Cold, Hard Cash (Casino Royale Remake)
by Man-Man in a Box
Summary: Remake of the Ian Flaming novel 'Casino Royale'. Has elements of both the movie and the book in it and some scenes and subplots exclusive to it. Set in an alternate timeline of James Bond events were the Cold War hasn't yet ended and Russian/Western relations are still very strained. Focuser's on both the Baccarat game and Vesper/Bond's love affair.


Cold, Hard Cash

By Tim Saunders

Prologue

Oleg Sokolov was walking down a long, thin corridor. He had heard there had been a security breach in sector 7A, so he had cut the meeting short, luckily before the topic of their discussion turned to their apparent bankruptcy, they needed money if they were to continue investing in the sub-organisations. But they didn't just need the money to invest, they needed it to survive. Sokolov took a right turn into the sector 7 main security office. He opened the door (which was protected by a retina, thumb and voice scan) and walked into the large room. The room was very dark, the only real source of light were the large monitors that covered the walls. Sokolov squinted in the darkness that was punctuated by these bright lights, and walked towards the man sitting at the main control panel. Before Sokolov had reached him however, the man spun around in his chair and said "I assume you've come here to inquire about the security breach sir?" The man spoke in a thick Scottish accent, despite the fact they were in one the most strictly-Russian buildings in the world. Sokolov paused for a moment before answering, in an equally thick Russian accent "Yes, tell me when it happened, how it happened, who the perpetrator is and if they're still here." "Yes, sir." "And make sure to send the information directly to my inter-com as soon as you have it!" "Yes, sir." The man repeated in a monotonous voice. The mans' fingers began dancing over the keyboards as Sokolov left the room and walked down the corridor further, his office was on the next floor. He got into the lift and waited for the doors to close and the elevation sequence to begin. As he waited, he contemplated the security breach, how the hell had the perpetrator got in? The Kremlin was one of the most well-protected buildings in the world, there were security cameras at every corner, dead-locks covering every door, over 20 individual security rooms each containing a team of 10 and every inch of the glass in the building was bullet-proof. The lift stopped and Sokolov stepped into the next corridor, which was nearly identical to the previous one and took the first door on the right, this was his office. After unlocking the door (which took security very seriously, like every other door in the building) he walked into his rather large office, hung his coat on the coat-hanger next to the door and walked over to his desk. He sat down on the leather-covered grey office chair and awaited the call on his inter-com. After about 5 minutes, the call came through, but it wasn't what he was expecting. The man's Scottish accent was present but it sounded slurred, he spoke in a hurry, like he was trying to get everything out as soon as possible. "Sir! He's disabled all the deadlock's and taken out security room's 9B and 8C, he's coming for us next! He's opening the door, please sir call security! Please sir I'm begging you he's coming through the door, he's going to kill us!" Sokolov didn't call for security, he had his information, and he didn't feel the need to waste what little time he had before this man came for him, as he now believed he was his target. Sokolov didn't turn off the inter-com, instead, as he took out his revolver from inside a draw in his desk, he listened to the screams of the 7A security team, he heard the Scottish man beg for mercy from perpetrator, but his plea's were silenced with a gunshot, Sokolov heard the man's body fall to the ground. Sokolov also took some spare ammunition from another draw in the desk, just in case. He pocketed the ammunition and raised the revolver, after a few seconds, the door opened. During these seconds Sokolov started feeling very... Cold, despite the heater situated in the ceiling. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, presumably, in fear. If this man had killed at least 60 members of security so far, he had every reason to be afraid. When the door opened, a tall man with short, light brown hair and bright blue eyes stepped into the room. Sokolov looked into his eyes, they were as cold as ice. Despite the deep fear he felt inside himself, Sokolov smiled at the man's presence, "You are most impressive Mr Bond, you must have killed, what? 60 of the finest Russian security officers within the space of about of 20 minutes? But if the secret service wanted me killed, I'd have thought they would have sent a 00." "Have we met before?" Bond replied. "I've read your file." "So the rumours are true, the Soviet Union do have files on certain government agency's." "I'm not part of the Union, Bond, I'm just assisting them." "Then who do you answer to?" Asked Bond, his voice was icy. "I'm afraid I can't tell you." Sokolov smiled at the disgruntled look on Bond's face. "Then our business is concluded." Bond raised a silenced pistol and pointed it at Sokolov. The cold sheet of fear once again covered Sokolov. To keep himself alive, Sokolov decided to keep Bond talking. "Tell me, Mr Bond, how many professional kills does it take to become a 00?" Bond replied, in the same icy tone, "Two." "According to your file you have one kill already, a drug trader who was hiding in India, so who is your next target?" Without speaking, Bond informed Sokolov who it was by smiling a cruel, cold smile and turning his back to Sokolov. Sokolov watched him in horror, he was right, he really was going to die, unless he acted quickly... Then Sokolov remembered the ammunition he took, it was already loaded in the revolver, all he needed to do was fire, and he had the prefect opportunity... Sokolov steadied his aim and fired... With a "Click!" The gun fired, but no bullets came out. Bond laughed and threw the ammunition magazine behind him, how the hell had he got it from Sokolov? The ammunition landed several meters away from Sokolov. Sokolov dived for the magazine, if he could get to it time and shoot Bond, if would all be over... But Bond was too quick, he spun around and within a second, Sokolov was dead. A bullet from Bond's gun had gone straight through his chest. His face was blank and he was lying in a pool of his own blood.

Bond went to walk out the door, but it shut itself and locked right before his eyes. An ear-piercing sound rang through the room, bouncing off the walls. The security cameras had seen everything, the alarms had been sounded, reinforcements were coming. Bond used what little time he had before the confrontation with the guards to prepare himself, he made a barricade out of objects like filing cabinets and the large desk. He also took Sokolov's revolver and pocketed it, along with the ammunition, now he had double the amount of ammo. He heard shouting outside, in the corridor, punctuated by several loud bangs on the door. "We know you're in there! Open the door and come with us or we will be forced to break down this door and kill you on sight!" Bond didn't open the door, instead he took cover behind the upturned table, cocked his pistol and waited. "BANG! 1... 2... 3... BANG!" Then another guard spoke "Get out of the way, I've got a better idea..." Bond heard a shuffling of feet before the sound of machine gun fire. Bond braced himself as bullets sprayed everywhere. Bond peeked around the edge of the table to see the bullet-ridden door getting kicked over by a guard. The same guard kicked over the filing cabinet and chairs before calling in the rest of them. Bond watched as guards started pouring into the room, there was at least ten of them crammed into the office. They all took defensive positions and waited for the other guards signal. "Mr Bond, we are going to give you one last chance, drop your firearms and come with us quietly or we will be for..." Bond didn't let him finish, he popped out of the cover and shot the speaking guard in the chest. He fell down, although he was likely not dead. The other guards took this as a signal to begin their attack and they started shooting relentlessly at Bond. Bond popped out of cover and took down 1, 2, 3 maybe 4 of them. But it wasn't long before the table was in splinters and Bond had to make other arrangements. Thinking quickly, he spun around and shot the already shattered glass windows. Once it looked fragile enough, Bond ran towards the large window and knocked the rest of the pane out. Dodging the guards bullets, Bond ran towards the remains of the window and jumped out of it... He landed on the roof of an out-building and went to take cover and continue the shoot-out. But he decided that escaping was more important. He walked to the edge of the building and turned around. He then sprinted at full speed, picking up pace as he went. As he neared the edge of the building he jumped... He landed on his feet on the opposite rooftop before going to jump off the roof and onto the ground. He would sneak onto a vehicle as it exited the building's gates and escape unharmed. But as he went to jump onto the ground he was stopped by a bright light shining on his face and gunfire at his feet. They had brought in even more guards, and a helicopter. As the gunfire was aimed at him, Bond decided to change his plan of action. Dodging the bullets as he went, he ran towards the building connected to his rooftop and started climbing it. "BANG!" He felt brickwork close to him shatter and heard the sound of bullets whizzing past him at high speed. Bond managed to reached an open window-sill and climbed into it. He took cover on the wall beside it. He watched as gunfire that was aimed at him tore up the building's furniture, chairs were left in splinters, filing cabinets toppled over, leaving hundreds of pieces of paper scattered all over the floor. Bond heard the sound of the helicopter fly over him and he braced himself for a fresh round of gunfire... But it never came. There was a short break in which Bond assumed they were all reloading their guns. Bond took this opportunity and went to return fire, but as he popped out of cover, he felt an object fly past him, it was a grenade. Bond abandoned the wall and ran for it, as he smashed down the door and ran into the corridor he heard the grenades final beep, before... An almighty bang shook the room and connecting corridors, followed shortly after by an explosion that left that whole portion of the building in dismay. Before the explosion occurred, Bond had sprinted down the corridor at top speed, vaulting over any objects that got in his way. Luckily, Bond was mostly unscathed. He glanced at the end of the corridor, which had caved in, before making a left turn and coming face-to-face with more guards. Bond fired off a few shots to distract them as he turned into the next corridor and sprinted down that one. On his right were some stairs, he ran down them, hoping it would lead him to some form of transportation. What he found was an underground room containing several litres of petrol and and some crates containing some spare grenades. Why these two objects were both in the same room Bond had no idea, but it was truly a blessing that they were. Bond grabbed the tanks of Petrol and used them to spread the liquid across the floor of the room. Bond heard footsteps above him and guards muffled voices, he armed himself with the grenades and waited. After a few seconds, the first guard came down the steps, he looked inquisitively around the room before spotting Bond. "He's here, Bond's here!" He called to his teammates, Bond slipped into cover and readied the grenades. The other guards came down, there were about 6 of them. Bond threw the first grenade out, it exploded, killing several guards in the process, the remaining guards went to run towards the door and Bond, but they were caught in the erupting flames. Several more guards came down the stairs, Bond threw another grenade, and another. Soon the whole room was alight. Under the cover of flame, he ran out of the door. He felt the cold Russian air hit his face... He was outside. There was a lorry readying it's departure so Bond threw a grenade out where the guards next to the entrance were. It blew a hole in the gate, killing all of them in the process. Bond threw another into the second troop directly opposite to them, he was now out of grenades. He opened the door of the lorry and pulled out the driver, the driver readied his pistol but Bond was quicker, he aimed his pistol and within a second the driver lay dead. Bond hopped into the driver's seat and started the lorry. He drove it out of it's corner and onto the main drive-way, more guards rushed in from all sides and started shooting at Bond, they all missed him. However, the helicopter hadn't given up it's pursuit. It aimed at Bond and the lorry, and started firing it's guns. The lorry was hit several times, one of which came through the front seats, luckily, Bond was already out of the gate though. He kept driving until he was into the city itself, before opening the door and jumping into a nearby lake.

Chapter 1: Licence to Kill

M walked down the street that led to her apartment, London was busy at night but this street looked surprisingly desolate. M checked the sign to make sure she had the right street. Yes, everything seemed correct. Checking the apartment block to make sure it was the right one (for what good that was going to do, all the high-end apartment blocks in London looked the same now.) She looked at her one, the window was glowing with light. That wasn't right, there was nobody home, she was widowed several years ago and nobody except Tanner (her personal secretary) and other high ranking members of the British government and the service (none of the agents, not even the 00s.) Knew were she lived. She had insisted on not having a private escort as she felt it was an unnecessary safety measure, now she second-guessed her decision. She drew a small pistol from inside her handbag and walked through the gate, she walked into the building (which was empty) and stepped into the lift. Once she had reached her floor she walked into her room. She squinted in the bright light, which was coming from a lamp in the right corner of the room, but she could still make out the silhouette of a figure standing by the large glass window. It spoke, it an icy tone, "007 reporting for duty, ma'am." "Not if I have anything to say about it." She replied. The shady figure stepped into the glowing light, he had short, light brown hair and bright blue eyes. "How the hell did you find out where I live?" Was the first thing she asked him. "The same way I found out your name, I thought 'M' was a randomly assigned letter I didn't realise it stood for..." "Add one more syllable and I'll have you shot!" She retorted. Any other man would normally be taken aback by this comment, but Bond have grown use to M and her personality by now. She was like a mentor to him, like the mother he never had. She had short, grey hair and a stern look to her slightly wrinkled face. She was quite short, but Bond thought this was fair enough, considering she looked like she was in her mid 60s. Just like any mother, she gave long lectures, this was turning into one of them. "Have I done something wrong?" He inquired. "Wrong? Wrong? Yes, you have done something bloody well wrong!" "Can I know what?" M opened her handbag and put the pistol back into it, she then drew a copy of the Daily Mail out of the bag and slammed it down on the coffee table. Bond craned his neck to read the paper "British Secret Service Spy Blows Up International Military Facility!" Blared the headline, followed by a sub-heading "British Government Fears Retaliation" Bond lifted his head to look at M's face, she was silently fuming, by the look of it. "Bond, your a damn fool!" She spat. "I was only doing my job..." "For a while, yes, you were doing your job. Then you decided to blow up half of Russia's most important military building! Do you realise what you have now done?!" Bond didn't reply. "Here we are working tirelessly, trying to improve international relations after the Cold War, our relationship with Russia and the Soviet Union is as strained enough as it is! And what do you do? Blow up one of the most important military faculty's in the world!" "I'm sorry, I though I was doing exactly what you asked of me." "No, you weren't!" M snarled back at him. "Then please explain to me exactly what I was meant to do?" "You were to infiltrate the Kremlin, assassinate Sokolov, and escape undetected. Your target was one man who we suspect was in deep with terrorists, not a whole government! Let alone one of the most dangerous governments out there!" "I understand you don't want another Nuclear War..." Bond started, but M cut him short yet again. "No! We don't! And you blowing up the Kremlin doesn't help us achieve that goal!" "So have I entered 00 status? Do I now own a Licence to Kill?" "Your 'achievements' have nevertheless been recognised, and you now, at least officially, hold the title of 00...7? I believe." Bond nodded, M continued "Still, I think it's too early to promote you, as a 00 you're supposed to be able to make some kind of judgement!" "I did, I thought one less Russian military building in the world would be a good thing..." "The Union may still have control over Russia, but we are still working our hardest to improve our relationship with the country, we're no longer in the Cold War Bond..." But Bond cut her short, he didn't need any more of this. "Just tell me what you want me to do now." M hesitated, before telling him. "I want you to think about your actions, I want you to contemplate what you've done, you are dismissed from duty until further notice, 007." Bond felt a sour taste creep into his mouth, he was going to protest, but he didn't want to anger M anymore then he already had. Bond nodded and went to walk out the door, but before he could, M called out to him. "And 007, don't ever break into my house again." Bond turned around and said "Yes, ma'am."

As Bond walked down the street he looked down at his smartphone, there was a new contact there, he had added it the other night: Elipsis. It was a number Bond had found in the security history of sector 7A, the same sector that Sokolov's office was in. Bond presumed it was the number of one of these 'terrorists' that Sokolov was in contact with, so he uploaded the contact to his phone. There was no information other then the name and the 'trace' option. Bond tapped 'trace' and it took him to the middle of the ocean, just outside the Caribbean Sea, near the Bahamas.

Le Chiffre's eye was bleeding, it had been for several years. His right eye was the victim of a small scar, which caused the tear ducts in that eye to commonly weep blood. He took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed at the eye with it, as his opponents at the Baccarat table watched him. There were only two of them, which meant the game wouldn't last for long, but they were both very rich, if Le Chiffre beat them, he would end up with at least 2 million or so pounds. They were both of Chinese descent, one of them was a man and the other a woman. They both dressed very expensively, Le Chiffre knew that you couldn't always judge a man or woman's wealth on the clothes they wore, but that it was still a good indication. Le Chiffre himself was wearing a black and white tuxedo, the handkerchief traditionally worn for decoration in the breast pocket was actually put to good use but Le Chiffre. A slight knock in the boat caused Le Chiffre's straight stack of cards and chips to fall out of place slightly, he straightened them up, adjusted his bow tie, dabbed his eye once more and drew a new set of two cards from his pile. He got a 5 and a 4, which equaled to a perfect 9. His two opponents placed their chips and drew their own cards, their bet was low, smart, thought Le Chiffre, but not quite smart enough... The 9 caused Le Chiffre to double both their bets, when the round ended he had almost 1 million pounds to his name. The game was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in." Called Le Chiffre, his voice was a cold drawl. The man walked in, he looked vaguely Greek, this was supported by his name: Demetrios, although he was of an Austrian family, which explained his last name: Von Bader. The Greek in him shone through more then the German, however, he had quite dark, tanned skin, heavy eyelids and a messy, curly pile of dark brown hair. "Demetrios, my old friend!" Le Chiffre called, shaking his hand. "Come to join us?" Demetrios smiled by nevertheless did not want to play. "Actually, Le Chiffre, I've come to discuss some... Issues with you." Demetrios was careful not to blurt out what issues, as he was aware Le Chiffre's opponents were listening, and they couldn't be trusted. "Certainly, do you wish to talk in private?" Demetrios nodded and Le Chiffre got up from his seat. "Will you excuse me?" He asked the man and woman, they nodded and Le Chiffre joined Demetrios, together they walked out of the room and onto the deck of the ship. It was lavishly furnished, just like the inside, with wood panelling and Renaissance-era furniture. The sun was setting, casting shadows and golden light across the boat. As Le Chiffre and Demetrios walked, they discussed the organisation. "Our financial difficulties are growing in number by the second, if we don't act quickly..." "We have a plan, and I think we should go through with it." Le Chiffre rasped, the same accident that left his eye scarred also left his vocal cords slightly burnt, which served to make the asthma he was born with worse. Coughing, Le Chiffre took out his puffer and inhaled. After a while, he found his breath again and continued talking. "Have your friends manufactured the bomb yet?" "Yes." "Have you analysed the airport and formulated the complete infiltration plan?" "Yes." "Are you sure the plane will be launched tomorrow night?" "Yes." "Very well, I will leave the rest up to you." "But..." "Yes?" Le Chiffre cut in. "But I'm not sure we're safe anymore, Sokolov was killed the other night, worse still, the British secret service agent that killed him went through the security history in the Kremlin, he reportedly find some sort of lead to us. The agent that killed him also blew up the building, one of the most well protected military buildings in the world." Le Chiffre turned away from Demetrios, he leaned on the railing and looked out over the water, which was splashed with golden light. "We are nearing bankruptcy, and I can't keep playing Baccarat and Poker forever, the other members of the board of director's are counting on me to regain that money, seeing as I'm their 'banker'. We need to act fast, otherwise we are going to collapse under it all, if we don't at least try to blow up that plane we would have waisted even more money on manufacturing that bomb. We need to do this job, whatever the risks, otherwise that organisation won't be happy." Dometrios thought on what Le Chiffre had said for a moment, before finally giving in. "Very well, I will go back to the Bahamas and continue with the plan." Le Chiffre turned back from the railing. "Goodbye, my friend." He said in his usual, cold drawl. "Goodbye, Le Chiffre." Replied Demetrios. As soon as Demetrios finished, he turned on his heel and walked towards his private boat, which was moored next to Le Chiffre's. Le Chiffre walked back into the room were the man and woman were still waiting, at the Baccarat table. "Shall we continue?" Asked Le Chiffre, if this plan worked, he'd have all the money he needed to beat his opponents.

Chapter 2: Holiday Plans

Bond stepped off the small plane and breathed in the clean tropical air. The sky was a startlingly bright blue, and the sun was shining. He was in the Bahamas, officially on a 'holiday' but actually tracing 'Elipsis'. As this was a personal thing, MI6 had not payed for the flight or accommodation, in fact, they didn't even know about 'Ellipsis'. Unfortunately, this meant Bond could very well of just waisted money on that air fare, but he was confident it wouldn't just lead him to a dead end. He had the feeling he was onto something here. Bond walked across the Tarmac, he felt the wind in his face, both natural and from the plane. He walked into the airport gate and came out at the terminal on the second floor. As he was inside, Bond took off his sunglasses. He stepped onto the escalator, which led to the security gates. As this wasn't an 'official' assignment, Bond was not allowed to bring any weapons into the country. Normally, MI6 would notify the airport, who would in turn notify security, but this was impossible this time. It was risky, taking no weapons with him, having grown so use to having guns and knives in his suit pockets, Bond felt... Naked without them. He got through security without a hassle and stepped outside, into the humid air. The Bahamas felt so different to England, and London. Bond looked down the street to see it lined with palm trees. Bond walked down it for a few minutes before finding the car he hired parked along the side. It was a BMW Z4. Bond would have preferred an Aston Martin, but the BMW was the only high-end car on offer, so Bond took it. It was silver in colour and sleek in design. Bond opened the door and slipped into it. It looked and smelt brand new. Bond closed the door, fastened the seatbelt, and turned the key, which was given to him in advance via the mail. The engine roared into life, pulling out of the parking space, Bond drove out of the road and through the roads connecting the buildings surrounding the airport. Before long, he was speeding down the highway, towards the coast. Bond took out his phone, and began tracing 'Elipsis' once again, just as he thought, it lead him to the Ocean Club. Bond had been to the Ocean Club before, a few years ago, so he had a membership card already. He could just walk straight in and find this 'Elipsis', whoever it was. Bond stepped on the accelerator and the car roared in protest, before long he was flying down the high way at 140...150 kilometres an hour, thank goodness the limit was 160.

M was asleep, well, she had been, before Tanner decided to ring her phone in the middle of the night. Hearing the loud ringtone, M went to stand up, she walked to were she thought the bedside table was, the corner of the wood hit her hip. She yelped in pain and staggered. She couldn't see a bloody thing, either. She outstretched her arm and groped for the table. Eventually she felt wood, she ran her hands over the table top until she found the small, discrete button. She pressed it, and the table folded out into a monitor and keyboard. The light from the screen was bright, and the room was dark, M cringed at the light. She took the phone from beside the monitor and finally answered it. "Yes, Tanner, is that you? This better be important." "I'm sorry ma'am, about waking you up..." Started a timid voice. "Spare me the apology's, Tanner, just tell me what was so important you decided to all me at 1:00 in the morning!" "I realise it's early..." Continued Tanner. "Tanner?" "Yes, ma'am?" "Shut up and tell me what's wrong!" "Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am, you see, it's about Bond..." "What the bloody hell has he done now? Shot up another building?" "No, ma'am, he's gone to the... Bahamas, ma'am." M couldn't believe it. "You woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me his holiday plans?" "No, ma'am, it's just that, I don't think he's there on a holiday, exactly." Now M was intrigued. "Go on" she replied. "I assume you have turned on the computer fitted into your bedside table, ma'am?" "Yes." "Well click on agents and then go to 007. Show 'current activity' and then take a look." M did these things to find Bond was driving down the main highway on the main island in the Bahamas, he was reportedly tracing a signal. "You see who he is tracing?" Asked Tanner. "No" "It's a contact called 'Elipsis, it appears to belong to one Demetrios Von Bader, a German millionaire who reportedly made his fortune through gambling, although we believe he obtained much of it through more... Questionable means." "You think he's in deep with terrorists? Like our old friend Sokolov?" "Yes ma'am." "Do you have any more information on him?" Asked M. "Well, we know he was born in Hamburg from a relatively poor German family, which is of Greek origin. He currently is married to a woman called Camilla Von Bader and he also has a son, who goes by the name of Adelino Von Bader, although not much is known of him. We have several pieces of information we have accumulated over the years that lead us to suspect his terrorist connections, including evidence of his contact with known bomb manufactures. But he is still currently roaming free in the Bahama's. He commonly visits the Ocean Club where he flexes his gambling muscles, this is also where Bond is going." "As much as I hate to say it, I think Bond is onto something, if Bond is tracking him down he must be on the verge of some new plot, or at least his involvement in one. Continue tracking Bond and watching his movements, when you feel the time is right, contact him and find out what he knows. I'll be in touch but for now, I'm going to bed." Tanner found time for one final "Yes, ma'am." Before he was cut off.

Bond parked his car in the general car park before exiting and walking down the path that led to the Ocean Club. He looked up at the building, it hadn't changed much. It was basically several villas connected by corridors. It was surrounded by extensive gardens containing many native plants, including many native palms and the Bahama's national flower, the Yellow Elder. Bond was passed on his left by two men, they were both walking leisurely and wore t-shirts, shorts and sunglasses. The first man extracted some car keys from his pockets, and threw them at Bond. Bond looked at the man before asking him what he was doing, he looked of Greek descent, and had heavy eyelids and messy, curly brown hair. "You, take my car and park it in the member's car park. And make it quick!" The man thought Bond was a staff member. Nevertheless, Bond replied "Yes, sir." Bond walked back down the path, when he got to the car park, he pressed the key's button for a while, walking as he did so. Eventually, he heard a beep, following the sound, Bond came to Vintage Aston Martin, it was quite beautiful, it almost seemed a shame to do what he was about to do to it. Although the damage would only be light... Bond opened the car and slid into the driver's seat. He drove it out the car park and into the member's car park. When he got there, he found a free parking space and parked the car, however, when he was in the space, he rammed the car in front of him. Which caused the car alarm to go off, which started a chain reaction. Soon, all the car alarms in all the cars in the member's car park were blaring, Bond threw the keys behind him as he walked back towards the club. When he entered the main entrance, Bond stepped into a rather small, but well furnished and clean room, which maintained it's tropical origins. Bond saw a sign which read 'security room', exactly what he wanted. As Bond walked towards the corridor, he saw several hotel attendant's rush out from inside the room, towards the loud sound of all the car alarms blaring. Bond smiled as he watched them running around before making a right turn and walking straight into the opened door. Bond closed the door behind him and walked into the small room, which was nowhere near as large or comprehensive as those in the Kremlin. He bent over the main monitor and keyboard and started looking through the files. He found a folder named 'member's list' and started looking through the names, checking their contact names as he went. Eventually he came to 'Elipsis' which belonged to a man named 'Demetrios Von Bader' Bond clicked on his file and saw his picture. It was the same man who owned the Vintage Aston Martin, the same man who asked him to park it. Bond had heard of Demetrios, the secret service had accumulated a fair amount of evidence pointing to him involved in terrorist activity. Which explained why he would be contacting Sokolov. Bond scrolled through the information before finding the files on his relatives. He had a son and a wife. Bond looked at the wife's file first. She was very beautiful, and looked of Greek origin. Bond thought she could be a good place to start if he needed information on what Demetrios was planning. Bond had always been... Good with getting information out of women. Bond scrolled down to the son's file. His name was 'Adelino Von Bader' little to nothing was known of him. Not even his contact information. Bond closed the files and erased the history from his time on the computer. He opened the door to the amount it had been opened when he walked in and slipped out casually. He walked up to the main desk in the room. Sitting behind it was a rather good looking young woman. She had blonde hair and dull blue eyes. Bond walked up to the desk and asked for his room, which he had already booked. He handed her his member's card and she logged him back onto the system before confirming all the details with him. Before Bond left her company, he asked her about Demetrios "I parked my car over at the member's car pack just beside a rather beautiful Vintage Aston Martin, and I accidentally scraped the side of it. I was wondering who the owner was, and where he would be now, if I felt obliged to apologise and pay for any damages caused." She smiled at him. "That's a very nice offer, Mr Bond. The owner would be Demetrios Von Bader, he should be at the Casino by the jetty tonight." "Thank you, I was planning on going there anyway, so it's not out of my way." "I hope you enjoy your stay at the Ocean Club, Mr Bond." Bond replied, "So do I." He walked up the stairs and onto the second floor. To his right was the doorway to his room. He opened the door and entered the room. The room was much like the ground floor foyer. It was spacious and traditionally furnished with blinds and wicker chairs. Bond opened the suitcase he had been carrying the whole time and took out from it an expensive black and white tuxedo. Bond got dressed as he watched the sky turn orange and the sun set. Once he finished getting ready, he walked out of the room, he would probably never see it again. What a waste of money... Bond walked down the path leading towards the Ocean Club's Casino, feeling the cool breeze in his face and watching the waves crash against the sand. When Bond got to the Casino, the first thing he heard was the muffled sound of two men shouting. The noises were coming from a large boat moored at the jetty, it's deck was expensively furnished with wood-paneling. The shouting stopped for a few seconds, followed by the sound of just as muffled footsteps, and a door opening. A man stepped out of the boat's front door. It was Demetrios. He walked across the jetty and into the Casino without looking back. Bond's eyes were still on the door, though. There was a man there, hidden in the shadows, he had slicked over, black hair and a scar over his right eye. His jaw was square and his shoulders were broad, he was quite tall. The man and Bond made eye contact momentarily, each un-verbally trying to intimidate the other. After a few seconds, Le Chiffre stepped back into the shadows. Bond thought about his confrontation with the man. There was something... Off about him. Bond guessed he was one of Demetrios's 'friends in high places' meaning he too was involved in terrorism. Bond stopped pondering the man, and stepped into the Casino, it was a complex consisting of several rooms. The first one, and the one Bond was in now, contained the Baccarat and Poker tables. The bar was in the middle. Bond walked to wear Demetrios was standing, he was arm-in-arm with his wife, she was wearing a bright red dress, he was wearing an expensive looking cream-coloured suit. They stood there for a while before departing, the wife went to the bar and sat on one of the stools, while Demetrios sat down at a small Baccarat table. Bond watched him and his opponents play for a while before deciding to join in. Before he did so, though, he sat on the stool next to Demetrios's wife. He turned around and shook hands with her. "I'm James Bond, and you are?" "Camilla, Camilla Von Bader." She spoke with an Italian accent. "Yes, I know, I was just thinking of playing a game of Baccarat with your husband, and I was inquiring about my prize, should I win?" "I'm sorry Mr Bond, but I don't sleep with anyone that isn't my husband." Bond leant in closer to her, and whispered "That's not what I want..." "What do you want then?" She replied, in a similar whisper. "Information." "I'm sorry?" She didn't sound confused, despite her best efforts. "I know for a fact your husband is involved with terrorist organisations, and I think you do to." "What sort of information do you want from me then? Should you win, that is." "I want to know what he's planning now, where he'll be going, and his involvement in it." "I'm sorry, Mr Bond, but I'm afraid I can't give you all that, you see, I don't know that much..." The smile disappeared from Bond's face, his tone was icy. "Then what do you know?" "... I can tell you where he is going, and his involvement in this plot, but that's all I know, I promise." She sounded truthful. Bond slipped off his stool and walked towards the Baccarat table, "May I join you?" He asked. He sat down in the spare seat after seeing the banker's nod, directly opposite Demetrios. Bond stared into his face, Demetrios stared back, they had only just started and they were already playing the intimidation game. The woman sitting beside Bond picked up her cards and placed her bet on Demetrios's number. Demetrios drew his cards and placed them, face down, on the table. The man sitting to Bond's right placed his bet on Bond and his cards. Bond didn't place any bets but instead just drew his cards. He got two 4's. This qualified him for an extra pick-up. Bond drew his third card, it was a queen. Whatever bet Demetrios placed Bond could now triple. Demetrios looked into Bond's cold eyes, Bond remained emotionless, the only thing he could feel was hope, hope that Demetrios wouldn't discover what card he picked up. If he could triple Demetrios no-doubt already large bet he could wipe him almost clean from the table. The woman beside Bond passed up her turn to the baker. The banker then drew her cards and counted her chips before placing them, face up, in the middle of the table. They were now playing for the woman's chips. Demetrios revealed what cards he had, the woman was correct, it was a 5 and a 2. She took back all her chips and cards and gained the extra interest. Demetrios then placed his bet on Bond, it was only 300 pounds, the tables' limit was 500. Demetrios was forced to re-place his bet to 1000 pounds. But this was still a bad thing, Demetrios had seen through Bond. The man next to Bond drew two new cards. Bond revealed his cards. Demetrios lost 3000 pounds to Bond, the man next to Bond also lost 3000 to him. Bond collected his chips and went to continue playing, but Demetrios ended his turn by slammed his hands down on the table violently, causing it to shake. Before storming out of the Casino, swearing as he went. Bond excused himself and walked back to the bar. He sat on the same stool as before, next to Camilla. "I assume you saw the whole thing?" He muttered to her. "Yes, you played well, and his temper got that better of him." "So where is he going now?" "To Miami, the National Museum, for some reason." "Is he planning anything?" "I believe he's meeting up with our son there. I think they're are planning an attack of some description." "Thank you, at least you stayed true to your word." Bond stood up and pushed the stool in. Before he walked out of the Casino, Camilla asked him something. "And James?" "Yes?" "Could you try not to kill him, he really is a good man, deep down." Bond looked down at her. "I'm afraid that can't always be helped." He walked out of the Casino, leaving Camilla alone at the bar once again.

Chapter 3: The Bomb and the Plane

Bond drove the BMW down the highway, along the coast, and Miami. He couldn't see Demetrios's car, not even far off in the distance. This wasn't good, he needed to be faster than this. Bond stepped on the accelerator and started doing the speed limit. He was racing down the coast now, it wouldn't be long before he found Demetrios's car, or reached Miami, which was a few kilometres into the mainland. Bond drove in the darkness for a bit longer, following nothing but the road-side lights. Then, a new light source shone through out of the cloud of black, it was Bond's phone. It was flashing brightly and ringing. Bond took his eyes momentarily off the road to answer the phone. He tapped 'answer' and greeted the caller. "Bond here." "Ah yes, 007, I don't believe we haven't been introduced yet?" "What? Who are you?" "Tanner, sir, Bill Tanner. Personal secretary to M. Forgive me if I sound nervous sir, I was just a lowly member of Q branch but I recently got promoted, it's all come so soon, sir, hard to get used to, sir." "If you want, Tanner, we can play meet-and-greet with each other when I get back to London but for now, shut up and tell me what this is about!" "Yes, sir, sorry sir, now to business. I see this 'holiday' you took to the Bahamas was no holiday at all. You were tracking down a contact from the Kremiln's security files named 'Elipsis'." "Yes, I assume you knew who it was before even I did?" "Yes, sir, his name is Demetrios Von Bader, he is from Greek descent, and was bor..." "I know, I know!" Bond was getting impatient. Tanner tried to release the tension between them by changing his tone to something more cheerful. "Well, uhhhh... Where are you now?" "Speeding down the main Bahaman highway, towards Miami." "Miami?" "Demetrios was planning a bomb blast, presumably with his friend Sokolov. The target is unknown to me. Demetrios is driving to the Miami National Museum now in a blue Vintage Aston Martin, it is the meeting place where he is going to discuss the plans with his son, Adelino. I'm tailing him there now. Once I get there, I will eavesdrop on them and their conversation. I will find out exactly what they're planning, hopefully. If I don't get it through stealth, I will get it through force..." "Yes, sir, I understand, sir. May I know how you obtained this information?" "A good tradesman never reveals his secrets, Tanner." Tanner laughed and replied "Okay, sir, call me back when you have the information, we'll further discuss the matter then." Tanner went to hang up but Bond called out to him to stop him. "And Tanner!" "Yes, sir." "Stop calling me 'sir'!" "Yes, sorry, 007. Good-bye!" It took a lot of self-control from Tanner to make that sentence sound the way Bond wanted to hear it. Bond heard the beep which indicated Tanner had hung up and turned all his concentration to driving again. He rounded a corner and began to see the Miami lights and skyscrapers in the distance. But this also worried Bond, he still couldn't see Demetrios, and if he didn't catch up to him soon he would lose him in the crowded, lit up and bustling streets and roads of Miami. Luckily for Bond, when he turned the next corner he could see the lights of Demetrios's car, they were both getting close. Bond's car hit a leisurely pace, he did this to maintain distance and successfully tail Demetrios, if he ran right up near the bumper of the Aston Martin, Demetrios would surely notice him, and that wouldn't be good. 30 minutes later and Bond was now tailing Demetrios in the packed roads and bright neon lights of Miami. Bond looked out the windows as he drove with the other cars. This wasn't his first visit to Miami, but this would be his shortest. As Bond watched the city in motion the lights bounced and reflected of his blue eyes, they were the only part of his face that weren't covered, at least partially, in shadow. Eventually, Bond watched out the side window as Demetrios parked his car at the National Musuem and walked up the stairs. Bond repeated Demetrios's actions. Before long, he was inside the National Musuem. Luckily, the Museum was free-entry, so Bond strolled in without a problem. As he walked into the large, square foyer, he scanned the room for Demetrios. He found him looking at a model of a human skull, seemingly reading the plaque. Bond watched as another, much younger man, joined Demetrios. He could only see the back oh him, but nevertheless Bond could see a startling resemblance, the two men were near identical. They both had a messy, curly dark brown mop of hair situated on their head and they were both about the same height. There was no doubt about it, this was Demetrios's son. Bond casually walked towards the bench just beside them. There was a man and a woman already sitting on the far left and right of it. Bond slipped in between them and began listening to Adelino and Demetrios's conversation. "Father, you're here." Adelino muttered to Demetrios. "Yes, and this isn't a very safe meeting place so I'll keep this quick." Bond leaned over the woman and grabbed a copy of the Miami Herald off the table beside her. He glanced at the headline, it was nearly identical to the one the Daily Mail had run a few days ago. It was about the whole Kremlin incident, just reading the headline and looking at the photo of the burning building left a sour taste in Bond's mouth. But Bond was not paying all that much attention to the paper, he was merely using it to hide his face. The attention of his ears were on the continuing muttered conversation between Demetrios and Adelino. Meanwhile, his eyes were staring into that void of nothingness that exists only when our mind has nothing else to focus our eyes on. "Do have the equipment?" Asked Adelino. "Yes, it's right here." Bond's eyes flicked up slightly to see Demetrios handing Adelino a bag. "If that is all, I shall leave then." "Are you sure you know the plan?" "I could recite it off the top of my head right now." "Good, then I will see you back at the Ocean Club. Good-bye, my son." "Good-bye, father." Bond once again glanced up at the pair of them to see Adelino walk away from Demetrios, he was carrying the bag his father had given him. He had a funny look in his dark-brown eyes, a crazed look that wasn't present in his fathers'. Before making eye-contact, Bond quickly turned his view to Demetrios, he was walking across the foyer. Bond placed the paper back onto the table top, and stood up. He began tailing Demetrios across the room. Bond was hiding in plain sight, slipping in and out of the crowds to avoid detection. Eventually, Demetrios walked into the male toilets. Bond followed him. Bond opened the door and walked through the corridor, which opened up at the end to reveal a medium-sized bathroom containing three toilet cubicles and two sinks. Every inch of the room-bar the ceiling, was covered in pristine, white tiles. Demetrios was bent over a sink, he was splashing his face and muttering silently. Bond walked silently towards Demtrios, he went to extend his hands, grab his neck, and torture the information he needed out of him. But Demetrios saw Bond's reflection in the mirror, he spun around and went to punch Bond. Bond blocked his attack and smashed his head into the mirror, causing it to shatter. Demetrios stumbled and Bond used this opportunity to grab him and slam him on the ground. Demetrios's head was pushed up against the floor, Bond grabbed a fistful of his hair and slammed it into the tiles. Demetrios let out a horrifying scream. He whirled around and kicked Bond, who went flying across the room, Bond hit his back on the opposite wall and slid down it. Demetrios extracted a knife from inside his suit pocket and ran towards Bond with it raised in the air. Bond stood up and grabbed ahold of Demetrios's arm, before using it to slam him into the wall. He hit it and fell down with such alarming strength his head broke the china sink. Demetrios was lying on the floor, at Bond's mercy. His face was covered in blood and bruises. Several chunks of china were now embedded into his head. Bond pocketed the knife and knelt down to Demetrios's level. He grabbed Demetrios by the neck and forced him on the ground. "What are you planning?" Bond growled. Demetrios didn't answer, he just put his hands into one of his suit pockets and took out a pistol, with alarming speed he went to shoot Bond but Bond disarmed him, the gun flew through the air, landing on the floor several meters away. "ANSWER ME!" Bond shouted, Demetrios still didn't talk. Bond grabbed him by his hair as well and dragged him across the floor, he put the plug into the sink that wasn't broken and filled it up with cold water. When the sink was full, Bond forced Demetrios's head into it, he tried to resist, but Bond was too strong. Demetrios felt his lungs fill with water, he felt his breath running out... Before Demetrios started to drown, Bond lifted his head up, out of it. "Ready to talk?" He growled. Demetrios still resisted by not saying a word. Bond forced his head once more into the water, this time for a longer period of time. Bond lifted him back up "What about now?" Demetrios didn't even open his mouth. Bond once again plunged his head into the cold water. When Bond lifted his head out of it again, Demetrios was choking and spluttering. Demetrios felt a trickle of water run down his throat, out of his mouth. When he found his breath, he finally cracked, and decided to talk. "What d-do you want to know?" He croaked. "What are you planning?" "There is a p-p-plane, it is being launched tonight, i-in 1 hour. It's the l-largest plane in the world. We're going...going t-to blow it, blow it u-up." "Why?" Snarled Bond. "I d-don't know, I'm just doing a job to gain m-money." "Why do you need more money? You're a millionaire!" "My or-organisation is b-bankrupt." He coughed and choked some more, before vomiting up more water. Bond grabbed him again, and forced him back on the ground. "Who do you work for? ANSWER ME! WHO DO YOU WORK FOR!?" But Demetrios was unconscious. Bond let go of him and allowed his body to go limp. Bond walked away from his body, towards the gun and the knife. He picked them up and pocketed them, finally, he had some weapons. But Demetrios wasn't unconscious, he reached for his second knife and walked silently behind Bond, he was right behind him, and Bond hadn't realised. Demetrios went to stab Bond in the back, but as he raised the knife Bond whirled around and stabbed Demetrios in the chest with his own knife. Blood started gushing from the open wound, onto Bond's hands. "What of your son?" Asked Bond. "Where is he?" "Demetrios gasped for breath. "On h-his way to the a-airport, with the b-b-bomb." Demetrios smiled a horrible smile. "Why are you smiling?" "B-because your too late, Bond, t-too late. In 50 minutes, that plane will e-explode!" Demetrios started laughing hysterically. However, the laughter was stopped by Bond, who pushed the knife deeper still into the wound, before withdrawing it. Demetrios's body slumped to the ground, his face was still locked in the expression of laughter, a maniacal smile still present on it. Bond hid the body in one of the cubicles, before washing the blood off his hands and the knife and exiting the bathroom. Now it was time to find Adelino. If Demetrios was telling the truth, Adelino should now be on his way to Miami International Airport. Remembering his promise, Bond called Tanner and told him everything he now knew. As he talked Bond determinately marched through the foyer and out onto the sidewalk. "Tell me Tanner, what important plane is being launched tonight at Miami international Airport?" "Uhhhh, hold on, let me see..." Bond could hear Tanner's fingers clicking on the keys of a keyboard. "Well, there is the Skyfleet Prototype, when it is launched in 40 minutes it will be the largest air-craft in the world. It weighs in at 640 tonnes. And that's just the prototype! Is there any reason why Demetrios and Adelino would want to blow it up?" "They said their 'organisation' was bankrupt, and they were doing this job to gain more funds." "Interesting. I can see where you are now Bond, you're walking down the sidewalk to Miami International Airport. Is that correct?" Bond ducked behind a railing, he was on a bridge at the moment, and Adelino had almost spotted him. "I'm tailing Adelino now. We're almost there." Adelino looked back ahead of himself and started walking forwards again. Bond ducked out from behind the railing and began walking slowly behind Adelino, remembering to keep his distance. He remembered what M had said, a long time ago, "Subtlety is often the key to success, Bond. You'd do well to remember that." Bond allowed the crowds to sweep him towards the airport, now Adelino would never see him. Bond exited the crowd and hid behind a near-by palm tree. "I'm just outside the airport now, Tanner." "Good. Now 007, continue following him and find out how he plans to blow up this plane. It's only a prototype, so the public is not allowed in yet, not even private members of staff. This is just a test flight, really. "So the only way he could blow up the plane was if he was either part of the airport staff, or if he ran across the Tarmac." "He would be an idiot to attempt either." Replied Tanner. Bond undid his bow tie, he was still wearing the expensive tuxedo, as he hadn't had time to change out of it. It still looked reasonably new, albeit a bit battered (and there were a few blood stains out of sight.) On his way here, Bond had got a few passing glances, but nothing that alerted Adelino to his presence, thankfully. Despite the danger of Adelino discovering him, Bond worried more if Adelino had spotted him, and was waiting for the opportune moment to catch him by surprise. Bond walked down the pathway and into the bottom floor of Miami International Airport, which was a massive complex with multiple floors, gates and terminals. Bond looked through the room for Adelino, he spotted him standing on an escalator as it took him up into the second floor, where some of the shops and cafes were located. Bond checked in as a visitor coming to pick up relatives and followed Adelino. He watched his movements closely, Adelino could strike and put his plan into action at any moment. Remembering to be subtle, Bond strolled over to a glasses store and tried on a pair. They were sun-glasses, meaning the tint on their lenses hid his eye movements. He glanced up at Adelino, he was entering the staff toilets. Why the staff toilets? This was suspicious, Bond turned around and lent on the glasses display. For a whole two minutes he stood there, not daring to take his eyes off the toilet door in case he missed Adelino. Eventually, Adelino emerged from the bathroom. He was wearing a security guards uniform, equipped with gun and baton. He was no longer carrying the bag. But if the bomb was in the bag, and Adelino was now carrying the bomb, where was it? Bond thought a bomb would be pretty obvious on a person if it wasn't being carried in a bag. And how had he got through security? This was strange. Bond put down the pair of sun-glasses and began tailing Adelino again. Bond shifted between the crowds to make himself less conspicuous. Eventually, Adelino entered the staff locker room. Bond didn't follow him, instead he just sat down on a nearby chair and waited. After a few minutes, something happened. The fire alarm sounded and the ceiling sprinklers burst with life. Water started pouring down, everywhere. Several people screamed and there was a rush as a tsunami of people tried to get somewhere were the water could not get to them. Bond pushed his way past the determined crowd, in the confusion of it all he couldn't find Adelino again. Bond searched and searched, dodging the flood of crowds and spluttering in the water as he went. Eventually, he found Adelino, he had a smile of satisfaction on his face and was walking towards the exit, which led to the Tarmac. Bond started running, shoving people out of the way and dodging puddles of accumulated water as he went. He flung open the door and ran down the stairs. Slightly slipping as he went. Bond then jumped the last two steps and rolled onto the hard surface. He was on the Tarmac.

Chapter 4:...And Into the Fire

Bond looked out over the Tarmac, there were workers running around as usual, doing their jobs. Loading baggage onto planes and driving forklifts. They were all oblivious to the battle that was going on right under their noses. Bond's eye was sifting through the crowd, separating the baggage handlers from forklift drivers and trying to find Adelino through the confusion. Bond saw him, he was climbing into a lorry, about to drive over the Tarmac, towards the Skyfleet Prototype. As Adelino started driving the lorry away, Bond gave chase, he sprinted after him at full speed. He felt the wind in his face, heard the mutters of the workers and the engines of the planes. Bond ran even faster, he was determined to catch Adelino, otherwise that plane was about to go up in a ball of flames. Vaulting over objects and picking up pace, Bond was drawing nearer to the lorry. He went to jump for it, but it slipped through his fingers and he landed, face first, on the Tarmac. Bond stood up, he had a blood nose and several other bruises. He watched as the lorry continued across the Tarmac, it wasn't very fast, luckily. Bond quickly formulated a plan in his head. He ran across to a spare forklift and began to put it into action. He climbed into it and began driving it, it wasn't very fast, but Bond stepped on the accelerator and started gaining on the lorry. As he neared it once again, he heard a security guards voice "Halt! You are entering a restricted area of the Tarmac, turn your vehicle around and cease your chase on the guard's vehicle now or we will be forced to take action!" Bond swore under his breath, the guards thought he was attacking Adelino, and that Adelino was actually a security guard escaping from him. Bond hit the forklift's speed limit, the engine let out a horrible scream, it wasn't designed to go this fast. Bond turned a lever and the lift extended. Bond was nearing Adelino, he climbed out of the forklift and felt the breeze in his face, he skirted around the side before stepping on the lift, he was close to the lorry now, all he needed to do was jump, hopefully this wouldn't end in him face-planting into the ground again. He neared the edge of the lift, and jumped... He landed on the lorry's roof with a 'thud!' Bond couldn't believe it, but he had little time for celebration. Bond lay on his stomach and slid across the roof, he looked down at Adelino, he hadn't realised Bond had landed on the lorry's roof yet. But what he had realised, was that the guards were now chasing him and Bond in several heavily armed police carriers. The same guard who spoke to Bond before now spoke to him again. This time, he shouted through a megaphone. "I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU AGAIN! STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW OR WE WILL SHOOT!" Bond once again ignored him. He simply turned around to see how long he had before they reached the Skyfleet plane. It was moving slowly out of a large hanger, and it needed that space too, it was truly massive. Bond wondered how Adelino could blow it up, he needed a big bomb, and he obviously didn't have one. Bond's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunfire aimed at him. Bond turned around to see several guards firing SMG's out of the carrier's windows. Bond dodged the gunfire and took out the pistol he took from Demetrios in the bathroom. He dodged more gunfire and went to return fire when the roof of the car twisted and he lost his footing. Adelino was swerving the lorry violently in an effort to shake Bond off, he had obviously realised Bond was there, now he couldn't use the element of surprise anymore. Bond dodged more gunfire before lying on the roof again and hanging on for dear life. The bottom half of his body swung dangerously as he held onto the edge of the roof. Eventually, the force was too much and Bond lost his grip and tumbled off the lorry. While in mid-air, he grabbed onto the roof again and swung through the open window, into the passenger's seat. Adelino jumped with fright before extracting an assault rifle and aiming it at Bond. Bond grabbed the barrel and swung it at Adelino, knocking him in the nose. Blood spurted out of Adelino's nose, he let go of the gun's grips too hold his nose in support while Bond grabbed the gun and threw it out of the open window. Adelino went to punch Bond but he blocked him. Adelino continued to grapple with Bond for a few seconds, before letting out an ear-piercing scream and tackling Bond with alarming force. Bond's whole body was knocked over before both he and Adelino both tumbled out of the still-moving lorry's open door. Bond picked himself up from the Tarmac for the third time and and staggered over to Adelino. Adelino threw a punch at Bond, which he blocked. Bond then kicked Adelino in the hip, knocking him over. With savage ferocity, Bond beat Adelino on the ground several times, each scream he let out was more high-pitched then the last. Adelino kicked Bond in the stomach, before getting up. The two men continued fighting, neither gaining the upper hand. Behind them was a jet preparing to land, in front of them were the security guards in their carriers. The jet's light fell on the tussling duo, they both looked up for the source to see the plane coming down, roaring with ferocity as it went. Luckily for them, the pilots had already noticed the situation, they forced the plane up, with much difficulty. The plane roared in protest, before finally picking up speed and going vertical again. Fortunately for Bond and Adelino, the landing gear missed them, unfortunately for the guards, the g-force and wind from the plane's engines blew the carriers away, causing them to roll like tumbleweeds, killing many of those that were inside. Adelino knocked Bond in the chest before hitting him in the face. Bond fell flat on the Tarmac, he watched as Adelino ran away from him, towards one of the carriers that wasn't knocked over by the plane. He took out a pistol from the holster on his belt and shot all the guards inside, they didn't expect a thing. Bond stood up and felt for injuries, he found he had a broken rib and several bruises, and his chest had a wound which was bleeding severely. Feeling there was nothing on his leg, Bond once again sprinted at full speed, this time towards Adelino and his new carrier. Bond passed the bodies of the guards, he knelt over one of them and picked up his SMG. Bond slung the gun over his shoulder before climbing up the roof ladder on the carrier. Bond was once again on the roof of Adelino's vehicle as they drove towards the Skyfleet Prototype, they were getting close... Bond took out the SMG and went to hang over the windscreen and shoot Adelino in the chest before he had a chance to blow the plane up but Adelino knew Bond was on the roof already, he swerved violently causing Bond to stumble and fall over the side of the carrier. He grabbed the roof with his hands just in time but his left leg hit the moving Tarmac underneath him. Bond screamed as the fast-moving Tarmac ripped apart his trouser leg and burnt that whole side of his leg. Bond was now dangling by one arm on the edge of the carrier. Adelino glanced over at him before smashing open the windscreen and climbing out, over the bonnet and onto the roof. They were just meters away from the Skyfleet, it looked even bigger now. But Bond was still wondering, what was the bomb? What was he looking for to disarm? Adelino hadn't planted the bomb yet, other-wise there would be no point in all this. He couldn't be concealing it, it would be too big. It must of been hiding in plain sight... Bond racked his brains for what item Adelino had which he hadn't already used. The pistol? Yes. The Assault Rifle? Yes. The Baton? No! Bond now knew. The baton was the bomb. Bond could feel the Tarmac tearing apart the skin on his leg, with great effort, he managed to lift himself up and onto the roof. He tested his leg, he was now limping. He punched Adelino and went to grab the bomb, Adelino blocked him and hit him over the head, Bond then received a blow to the legs. Falling over, Bond went to get up, he watched as Adelino threw the baton onto the wing of the plane. Bond got up, punched Adelino in the face, and jumped onto the wing. He retrieved the bomb before jumping back down onto the carrier and continuing the fight. The carrier passed underneath the plane, to avoid hitting their heads on the bowels of it, Bond and Adelino both slid onto the ground, when the carrier passed, they both got back up. Adelino went to kick Bond in the stomach, Bond grabbed his foot and twisted it around, flipping him over in the process. Bond kept one foot on his other leg, but raised the second foot before bringing it down, hard, on Adelino's back. Adelino's back arched in pain, Bond clipped the baton to Adelino's belt before finishing with him. The man let out a scream before Bond tossed him by the leg off the carrier. Bond then jumped off the still-moving carrier and landed with a roll. However, when he got up he heard the click of loaded guns being raised behind him. Bond could feel their presence. "Turn around, slowly." Demanded an American voice. Bond raised his hands and did as the man said. When he completed the turn he found himself staring down the barrel of an SMG. He was surrounded from all sides by angry security guards. "Cuff him, we'll have time for questions later." Continued the same voice, it came from the only guard who didn't have his gun raised. An older man in his 50s, with grey hair, stubble and a sizeable gut. Bond felt his arms pinned uncomfortably behind his back and the sound of handcuffs being squeezed around his hands. His face was pushed against the back of the carrier, which had finally stopped moving, but Bond could see Adelino standing behind the guards, next to a forklift. Adelino smiled as he lifted out his phone, pressed a few buttons and BANG! Bond watched with grim satisfaction on his face as Adelino himself erupted into a ball of flames, he hasn't realised Bond had clipped the Baton back onto his belt.

Chapter 5: The Aftermath

It was 9:00 AM in the morning when Bond finally felt the warmth of daylight again. Despite Adelino blowing himself up, the guards still took Bond into custody. He waited in a cold air-conditioned white room with no furniture-bar a single, uncomfortable plastic chair. Bond glanced at his watch, it was 3:00 in the morning when he heard the muffled shouts of an angry-sounding woman and the 50 year old guard through the walls. Bond couldn't make out what they were saying. Then, the door flew open and M marched in. "Get up Bond, we're leaving!" Bond looked behind her, the 50 year old guard was bright red, he clearly looked very angry. Bond asked the guard to release him from his cuffs, but he refused. "Who do you think you are? Ordering me around like that, you bloody poms! You think you can just march right in here, flash a piece of paper, and leave with a man accused of attacking a security officer, stealing a government vehicle, murder, failure to follow an officer's instructions, an attempted bomb bla..." But M cut him off. "You blithering, idiotic little man! If you actually did your research you would know this here is Commander James Bond, and he also happens to own a licence to kill! He works for me, at MI6. If you even know what that is, you pathetic American fool. You think you can control what other governments do, you're as bad as the Russians, for god's sake!" M may have been short, but at the moment she cowered over the guard, he looked fearful at her presence. And he was right to be, to, when M's temper was in full-force the smartest thing to do would be to dive for cover. Bond felt lucky he was on her side this time. Nevertheless, he was still angry "I'm sorry ma'am but I cannot allow you to take a man whose criminal offences over the past night are nearly countless!" M retaliated. "Fine, okay, fine. If you want to keep him here, do it. But as you do so, do me a favour and contact MI6, let me on the phone after they've finished with you, too. I need too describe the situation in more... Satisfactory detail then an ignorant fool like you can deliver." M's voice had a deadly venom to it, but at least she had calmed down. She walked out of the room, nodding at Bond as she went, Bond nodded back. Over the course of 6 hours Bond had the longest morning you could imagine, he heard muffled shouting, arguments and even what sounded like a helicopter overhead. While waiting 6 hours was unarguably difficult, Bond didn't attempt to escape, M had the situation under control, and he didn't feel like angering the Americans anymore than he already had. Otherwise the CIA would get involved, and that never went down well with M. The only time he saw other humans was when M, the 50 year old guard and several other guards had asked for his account of the story. Bond gave it, exactly to the detail, and they had left him alone once more. With silence being his only company, and silence was rarely a good friend, it was the type which seemed nice at first, but slowly drove you insane... He was finally released from custody by M and some men from the secret service. Bond asked M what had happened over those 6 hours. She promised she'd tell him in the helicopter. Once they were hovering far up, above the city, M began her recount "Well, it was roughly 8:00 I heard from one of other agents situated in Miami that Adelino Von Bader had been killed and you had been taken into custody but the Miami International Airport Security Force. I caught an emergency flight directly from London when I heard the news, our hired lawyers couldn't defend a cat who had killed a mouse in cold blood so I thought I'd step in." "I'm glad you did, I'd probably still be cuffed to that chair if it wasn't for you." "Don't get all charming on me 007, I like you when you're on mission, and the cold and calculating Bond takes over. Don't try and use your charisma on me because it won't work!" M snapped back at him. "Tell me M, what do you truly think of me?" M paused for a moment, before replying "I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War. Whose boyish charms, though wasted on me, obviously appeal to many a young woman out there. Now, back to business." Bond was not taken aback by this comment, he was used to it by now. "Go on." "After the pilot of my plane was refused landing permissions by the International Airport I knew something was wrong, despite the fact you stopped Adelino. Eventually, I got on the ground, accompanied by several armed guards." She nodded to the men in suits that were sitting next to them, they were the same ones who were there when Bond walked free out of the security station. "When I got into the security station and met that arrogant security officer I immediately knew the situation." "And what situation was that?" "That of you being wrongly accused by an American security officer for crimes you committed for queen and country!" "But does it matter if it was committed 'for queen and country'? I still committed many crimes last night." "There's a reason we invented the Licence to Kill Bond. We invented it to avoid horrid situations like this!" "But it seems certain members of the American Government haven't been informed." Bond looked over the window of the helicopter, they were just past Miami, above the Main Highway. Bond watched as the miniature-looking cars made their way across it, towards the city. M kept talking as Bond looked out the window. "No, they hadn't been informed. Typical Americans, can never accept the fact that sometimes they're wrong even what the evidence was right in their face. I showed them your file, rang up many British institutions who all backed me up but they still didn't let you walk free. They said that any privileges you may have in Great Britain didn't apply when you were on American soil. Furthermore, as this wasn't an official assignment that you were on it didn't apply either. I told them you may have been dismissed, but your Licence to Kill had not been revoked." Bond noticed an icy bottle of Vodka on a table next to his seat, it seemed amazing the force of the helicopter taking off and landing hadn't knocked it over yet. Bond took out a glass and poured some of the drink into the glass, he took a sip. It had a cold, refreshing taste to it. "What happened in the end?" "Well, the argument raged back and forth all night. He threatened to bring the CIA into it, I told him it was none of the CIA's concern. He asked for your full recount of the story and I allowed him to do so. You did a good job at delivering a blank recount, 007." Bond took another sip of the Vodka "Thank you ma'am" he replied. "Eventually, I managed to win the argument, and he let you go free, and here we are now." "All that and you didn't even find out his name." "This incident already took longer than it should've, damn Americans." She swore under her breath. Bond took another sip from his glass. "We don't want to make more enemies, M. We need to find out who the real enemy is behind this attack and subdue them. " "Don't start questioning your moral's Bond, I've already lost too many agents to themselves." "Meaning?" "Meaning if you want to be a good agent, you have to soon learn that everyone is your enemy, to trust no-one. You start talking about 'who the real enemy is' and you'll soon start questioning your country, and if you start questioning your country you'll question your job, then you'll probably go galavanting off to join some organisation and start fighting against us and our allies. I need agents with loyalty, most have it, some lose it, and that's when they get dangerous." Bond drained the glass, before inquiring "What will be my next assignment then?" "All in good time, 007." Bond could feel the landing sequence begin. When the helicopter was on the ground Bond stepped out and breathed in the clean Bahaman air, it was much nicer then the dirty stuff that was on offer in Miami. Bond looked around, they were in the gardens of the Ocean Club. Why had they landed here? Bond was about to find out. M stepped out in front of Bond "Follow me, Bond. I want to show you something." Bond walked behind M as they walked through the empty foyer of the Ocean Club, what had happened? Bond glanced through the greenery of the gardens to see yellow tape. He heard voices that sounded like they had been muffled through masks. As Bond rounded a corner, he saw the secret service forensics team in blue suits and masks gathered around two bent over palm trees. The forensics van was pulled up outside and the whole club was surrounded by a perimeter of yellow tape and more men in suits from MI6. M parted the group of forensics officers to make way for Bond, Bond looked down, into the hammock that was supported by the palm trees, and saw a horrific sight. It was Camilla Von Bader. She was dead, her limp body lay in the hammock, covered by sand and water, her eyes had a cold, dead look to them. M looked down at the body, with a disgusted look on her face. "You didn't notice but there were men from the same organisation that Demetrios and Adelino were a part of in that bar. They bugged Camilla's drink, they heard every word you two said." Bond continued staring at the body, there was a horrible, twisted, look of fear on her beautiful face. "Once you left they took her, and killed her for her treachery. This was exactly what I was saying. Look how well your charm works, Bond. Her lungs are now filled with wet sand and salt water. She didn't drown, she choked to death." Bond was still looking down at her, he could see a trickle of sand running down her lips, M was right. She was innocent, that's what got to Bond, she may of been married to a terrorist but she was still an innocent, she died because of Bond's action, not because of her own. "Now Bond, Tanner has already created a file detailing everything you know, he needs to update it soon with last night's events but before he does, tell me, what do you know of the organisation Demetrios and Adelino were a part of?" "Apart from their involvement, all I know is that there are a lot more of them, including a man with a scar on his right eye." "Le Chiffre?" "I'm not sure." "Funny you just mentioned him, because he is who you'll be targeting next. Anything else?" "They're bankrupt, and prepared to do other terrorist organisations' jobs to regain their funds. But that's all I know. Demetrios died on me before I could get anything more than the immediate future out of him. You'll have to ask Tanner if you want to know more about them." "I will, and you're right about them being bankrupt, Le Chiffre himself is setting up a high-stakes game of Baccarat at the Casino in Royale in Montenegro. And that's your next assignment." "Really? You think I'm ready for this?" "I'll be honest 007. No, I don't think you're ready for this mission, you've just sustained several injuries..." Bond felt the bruises, cuts and the burnt leg. "And you also feel the need to destroy everything and anything that comes in your way. From buildings to vehicles to lives." "I tried to be more subtle this time." "Yes, you did, and thankfully you didn't eff it up too badly. Hopefully, this wasn't a fluke and you'll just as efficient and by-the-book during this mission as you were last night." "I would hardly call driving a forklift into a lorry and blowing a terrorist up with his own bomb 'by-the-book'." Bond replied. "We don't need to know the details, 007." "Now, about this new mission. It seems the bomb blast was this organisation's main plan to regain the funds they've lost. Because you foiled that plan of their's, they're now desperate, so they are sending Le Chiffre to play Baccarat and use his winning's to regain their current loss and finance terrorism for years to come. We need someone to defeat Le Chiffre at the Baccarat table, and Tanner informs me you're the best player in the service. You'll go to Montenegro and somehow defeat Le Chiffre in that game. If you fail, use any means possible to regain the money, including brute force. That's why I'm questioning your ability to perform this task, hopefully you'll defeat him at that Casino and we won't need to go to that extreme. That's all I really have to say about this mission, Bond, you will be making up much of the plan this time. You will have assistance for this mission, 007. We have sent an officer from the HM treasury to manage your funds and Rene Mathis and several of his men to help you neutralise Le Chiffre and any other members of the organisation he may have brought with him, hopefully before they try and make an attempt on your life, which they no doubt will." Bond smiled "Good, give me Mathis, I like Mathis." Bond had worked with Mathis and his 'men' before, Mathis was not an official agent for the service, but he still worked for them. Using his army of spies and mercenary's to gather information and kill target's when asked to do so. He was a valuable asset to MI6, and Bond enjoyed his joking personality greatly. Which was a stark contrast to Bond's own, cold demeanour that he employed during assignments. "I'll get the full story of the Skyfleet, Demetrios and Adelino from Tanner, because you obviously don't have the time to write up mission reports right now." Bond was silently cheering inside his head, he hated writing up end-of-mission reports. M knew this from the fact that they were always incredibly brief, she would probably get more information from Tanner anyway, as Bond had told Tanner everything already and several of the additional agents in Miami had already told Tanner the rest. M spoke once more "I would ask you to remain emotionally detached while on this mission, but I don't think that's your problem is it, 007? To be honest, it's quite the opposite, it's that thick protective shell of ego that covers you and drives you during these missions... Listen Bond, this may be too much for a blunt instrument to understand, but arrogance and self-awareness seldom go hand-in-hand..." Bond thought on what she had said, before replying "No, I understand, you want me to be half-monk, half-hitman?" "Any thug can kill, I want you to take your ego out of the equation and to judge the situation dispassionately. But for now, all I feel needs to be said is 'good-luck, 007'." "Thank you, ma'am." Bond walked over to one of the agents, the agent handed him the air-fair and accommodation funds, before Bond turned back to M. "One last thing, who is this Le Chiffre man?" "He's the private banker to this organisation, he is very skilled at handling money, including gambling. Which explains why he'd think setting up a high-stakes Baccarat game would be a good idea. Here, I luckily have his file on me, I was just reading it on the plane." She handed a thin folder to Bond, he opened it up and read it silently. Name: Le Chiffre Sex: Male Eye Colour: Brown/Grey Hair Colour: Dark Brown Height: 6 Feet and 2 Inches Occupation: Banker and Fund Manager for Unknown Terrorist Group Physical Traits: Scar on His Right Eye, Causing Bleeding or 'Weeping' of Tear Ducts, Broad Shoulders, Square Jawline, Looks Russian in Appearance (Although Country of Origin is Currently Unknown), Has to Take Air from an Inhaler often (Vocal Cords Have Been Mildly Damaged by Fire) Personality Traits: Smoker, Alcoholic, Highly Competent and Extremely Common Gambler... Bond skipped through the rest, he felt he didn't need to know his 'sexual habits'. Bond handed M the file before turning on his heel, but he was stopped by M once more. "And the CIA have sent one of their agents to play at the table alongside you." Bond turned around again, this time looking to end the conversation. "Is that all, ma'am?" "Yes, Bond, now catch that flight to Montenegro! We need you to have enough time to formulate a plan and get familiar with your surroundings." Bond walked back through the foyer, towards the helicopter. He couldn't believe it, all he was doing was playing Baccarat alongside a member of an unknown terrorist organisation, but it would end up more complicated that that, Bond as sure of it.

Chapter 6: Vesper

Bond stared out the window, at the clouds. The sun was setting, casting dark shadows and streaks of golden light into the plane's cabin. It was rather hypnotic, starring at the golden clouds, as they a slowly drifted past the window next to Bond. He was traveling first class, as the secret service could afford the luxuries and had two seats and a table to himself. He sat back, relaxed, and took another sip of his cocktail. He saw a shadow past by him and felt a movement, looking to his side, he saw a tall woman standing in the aisle beside him. She had dark black hair that she wore in a simple bun and bright blue eyes, rather like Bonds'. She was very pretty, but she offset this by wearing slightly masculine clothing and having a rather serious look on her face. "May I?" She asked in a rather soft voice. "Most certainly." Bond replied, with a smile on his face. She sat down on the seat opposite to Bond and withdrew a business card, she placed it on the table. Bond held the business card in the air and read it. 'Vesper Lynd- HM Treasury Foreign Liaison Officer'. Vesper spoke again, and Bond lifted his eyes from the card to look at her. "The treasury have agreed to stake you in the game. $10 thousand pounds have been sent to your account in Montenegro for you to use in the game, with an additional $5 thousand available to you should I deem it a prudent investment. But if you lose, you do realise that our government will have directly financed terrorism?" "I did realise that." "Good, at least that means you'll think twice before making any risky moves while playing... What was the game called again?" "Baccarat." Bond replied. "I've never heard of it." "Many people haven't." "Don't you think it's a bit risky though? Putting millions of pounds and thousands of lives on a game of luck?" "Serious Gamblers know that reading your opponent is just as important as having good 'luck' in any game, particularly Baccarat." "I see, so it's, at least partly, a game of skill?" "Certainly, I do agree with you though, this plan is risky." Vesper looked out of the window, the dark sheet of night was falling outside, and the stars were taking their place in the sky. "Vesper, a Latin word for evening." Bond stated, he had noticed her looking at the night. "It's a nice adjective but I do hope you gave your parents hell for daring to use it as a name." "I was born at nightfall, so they named me Vesper to commemorate the occasion, I suppose." A waitress walked down the aisle and asked to take their orders for dinner. "May I stay in your company for dinner?" "Certainly", Bond was quite enjoying her company. "The waitress took their orders and as they waited for their meals, Bond started quizzing Vesper about herself, she proved a surprisingly tough nut to crack. "So your good at reading people are you? Is that why the Secret Service have sent you to play this game, Baccarat, that is all about the notion of reading your opponent?" "Yes I am, which is why I've been able to detect a hint of sarcasm in your voice in the last few minutes." Vesper smiled at him. "Go on then, continue quizzing me." Bond continued, "You worry you won't be taken seriously, don't you?" "You think your beauty is a problem, that your male superiors won't recognise any hard work you've put in, that they won't promote you." "Which one could say of any attractive woman with half a brain..." "Bond ignored her and continued, "However, they may be mistaking your feelings for arrogance, which is why you have this problem in the first place, I think." "Tell me, Mr Bond, how did you get that out of me?" "Well, it seems you wear slightly masculine clothing, and have a rather serious tone to yourself, which gives you a rather, prickly demeanour." "I admit my first thought of you ran to orphan, but as you mentioned your parents, I'm going to have to go with only child. "I have to say Mr Bond, you're good, I can see how you'd be good at this 'Baccarat' game..." "But I think it's my turn now." "Go on" Bond smiled as he took another sip from his cocktail. "Well by the way you dress you went to Oxford or wherever, and so you naturally think everyone wears expensive suits, but you don't look like you were born into it, like it fits you perfectly, because it doesn't." "And as your first thought of me was 'orphan' that's what I'd say you are." Bond replied by taking another sip from his cocktail. Vesper continued "It makes perfect sense as well, as MI6 look for well-adjusted young men who don't put a second thought into sacrificing others in order to protect queen and country. You know, former-SAS types with easy smiles and expensive watches. People who have no problem with violence, provided it's for the right cause." At this moment the waitress served their meals. They ate in silence for a moment, but before long they were talking again, this time Bond continued discussing Baccarat to Vesper. "So bluffing is an important part of the game, almost as important as putting your chips in at the right time and playing your cards. The reason you bluff is to throw your opponent, or opponents, off the scent by tricking them into making the wrong move. Le Chiffre will be trying to read me, and the other players, so I'll have to make all the wrong facial expressions to trick him into making a wrong move, otherwise he'll be able to play me like a deck of cards. At the same time, he'll probably be bluffing too, so it makes it quite difficult for the whole table." As Bond went on to explain the card values Vesper listened intently, despite her previous statements, she couldn't help but feel... Relaxed in his company. After they finished their dinner, Vesper ended the conversation. "Tonight has been nice, but as charming as you are Mr Bond, I'll be keeping my eyes on our governments money, and off your charming smile." She stood up and said "How was your lamb?" Bond replied "Skewered." Vesper smiled at him one last time and said "I'll see you later tonight at the airport, good evening Mr Bond." "Good evening Miss Lynd." Bond replied. He watched her as she walked down the aisle and out of site. He took one last sip out of his cocktail, before sitting back and eventually falling into a deep sleep.

He was woken two hours later by the captain's voice blaring out of the speaker in the the roof above him, announcing the end of the four hour flight as they neared Montenegro International Airport. After the plane had landed and he had passed through the gate he immediately looked for Vesper. He found her waiting for him with Mathis, he looked a bit thinner and greyer than the last time Bond saw him, in Bolivia, and he still had a few of the bruises he picked up during the mission there (which was originally intended to apprehend drug runners but soon turned into an escape from the Russian mafia, where Mathis had unfortunately took quite a beating.) Nevertheless, he was roaring with laughter as he spoke in fluent French with Vesper. "I didn't know you could be speak French." He said quietly behind Vesper. Mathis turned around and smiled at him. He had a square jaw, a massive smile and slicked over, sandy hair. "Ahhhhh, James, you've finally joined us!" Mathis slapped him on the back and shook his hand vigorously. "I see you've made a speedy recovery." Bond pointed out. "Yes, yes the doctor's at the Bolivian hospital's are surprisingly efficient! Now, this here is Miss Vesper Lynd." He gestured towards Vesper. "Oh yes, I know." Mathis looked surprised. "So you already know each other?" He leaned close to James and muttered "I think I know how..." Bond replied loudly. "Actually Rene we met on the plane." He smiled at Vesper, she smiled back. There was an awkward silence between Mathis, Bond, Vesper and Mathis's two bodyguards, which was broken by Bond suggesting if he and Vesper should go pick up their luggage from the baggage terminal. As they walked through the foyer Bond asked Vesper "I assume Mathis has told you how we know each other." "Yes, he seems a very, happy man." "That's Mathis, always joking and cheerful." With the help of Mathis's bodyguards, they managed to get all the luggage into Mathis's car without a repeat trip. The only problem they had with the whole procedure was a security guard inquiring about Bond's guns and knifes inside his coat. Although Mathis had already informed the airport that he was from the British government, it seemed this guard hadn't been informed. Bond sat next to Vesper in the back seat of Mathis's car, which was large, expensive looking and spacious. As they drove through the countryside towards the town of Royale. Mathis handed them the documents containing all the information Bond and Vesper required to complete the mission successfully. Including their false relationship and identities, the Casino's timetable and the amount of money that had been transferred to Bond's account. "MI6 was going to write up a full plan for you and Miss Lynd but I thought you'd prefer it if you did things 'your way'." "You know me too well Mathis." Bond replied. The car slowed down as they passed an expensive looking Italian Villa. "That there is Le Chiffre's Villa, it's where he will be staying when each nights portion of the game is finished. You might want to take note of that." Bond had already analysed the Villa. It was of an Italian design, presumably Renaissance era architecture, and it was in very good condition. It was of a modest size, but it looked expensively furnished and well guarded. There were several guards in suits with no logos standing by the several meter high fence. And there seemed to be no way in but the front door, which was a smart security measure to take. Judging by the fact Le Chiffre could afford all this, Bond could see he was obviously a very good gambler, just like his file had stated. By the time Bond had finished contemplating the Villa, they were nearing the town of Royale. A small, charming town situated on an island in the middle of a lake surrounded by mountains. It was very picturesque, although Bond had no interest in scenic views, all he was focusing on in the town was the Casino, where he'd do battle with Le Chiffre in one night's time. Bond checked his watch by the light in the roof of the car, which was how he read the files. It was 11:00 PM. "Am I aloud to know what was written on those files?" Vesper asked. Bond did not hand them to her but rather read them out himself. "According to this we're married, we've been together for quite a while, hence the shared bed and suite at the hotel we'll be staying at." "I do hope it's 5 star." Vesper sarcastically retorted. "If I know the secret service it will be!" Mathis shouted from the front seat. "I'm a banker from London and your a French accountant." "Not very different from our actual jobs then," Vesper replied. Mathis's car parked outside the hotel and after they bid Mathis farewell, as they drove off to Mathis's own estate. They walked into the hotel foyer and Bond requested the room, which had been on reservation since the previous day. Together they went up in the lift, walked down the corridor, and into the room. Bond was relieved to see the comfortable looking bed, it had been a long night.

Chapter 7: The Iron Fist

Bond woke up the next morning to the sound of the birds. He looked to his left to find that side of the bed empty. Vesper must have got up and left early, presumably for breakfast. Bond checked the clock on his Bedside table, it was 8:00 AM. Before he and Vesper had said their goodbyes to Mathis the previous night, they said they would meet for brunch at 11:00 AM in the Town Centre to further discuss the mission. Bond got up and got ready for the day. As he walked into the hotel foyer, we looked into the doorway of the hotel restaurant and saw Vesper, sitting by herself, at a table near a window. Bond went to join her but he hesitated, he had already made arrangements to meet the CIA Agent that would also be in the game at the Casino at 8:30 AM. Bond shook the desire to speak with Vesper, and decided to follow through with the planned meeting. Bond turned back from the doorway and walked across the rest of the foyer, which was big, grand room with an intricately detailed roof and a marble floor. Bond walked through the main doors, which were large and grand, to fit with the rest of the room. He walked down the staircase and onto the Main Street leading into the town centre. Royale was a bustling town, and it had been since the Renaissance. In fact, that era had certainly left it's mark on Royale, the architecture and culture seem lifted straight out of it. Bond walked down the street by the pavement, he then took a left turn into the town centre, he walked past the fountain in the middle of the square and then turned right. He strolled through a small, thin and cramped alleyway but when he exited it, he was greeted by a wide and organised car park, which was overseen by a large, grand building, the Casino. Bond walked up the marble steps and into the large double doors. The Casino was handsomely furnished and very expensive looking. Bond walked through the large entrance hall, before he reached the end, he took a right turn into a separate room. This was a long, thin room that opened up at the end and led into the roulette hall and poker rooms. On the right side of the room was a bar. Bond scanned this side of the room and saw a dark skinned man in a black suit sitting on one of the stools. Bond's eyes drifted of his face and onto his pockets. His right pocket was open, and Bond could see the barely visible grip of a small pistol concealed in it. Bond guessed this would be him. "Excuse me, may I sit next to you?" Bond inquired. The man turned around and smiled at him. He said, in a loud voice "Of course, my friend!" Bond grabbed the stool next to the man and pushed it towards himself, before sitting on it. Once Bond had taken his seat, the man leaned in closer to him and asked, in a quiet and serious voice "The name's Bond isn't it?" Bond replied, "James Bond." The man smiled again but did not change his tone of voice. Despite this, he shook hands with Bond while introducing himself. "I'm Felix Leiter, CIA agent, I've been sent by the CIA to play Baccarat with Le Chiffre and, I believe, you." "The secret service mentioned there'd be an American agent from the CIA playing with me, tell me, Felix, do the CIA really think the British can't handle this one?" "This, Le Chiffre man that you'll be playing against, he isn't just playing to replenish the funds of one terrorist organisation, he's playing to replenish those of many. The CIA thought this mission may be to much for one government to manage, and I think they're right, considering the stakes." "Felix, tell me, how much do the CIA know about this organisation that the secret service don't?" "Well, I assume you know a lot about Le Chiffre already?" "I've read his file, which was quite comprehensive." "Good, at least the service aren't catapulting you into this completely blind... But tell me, Mr Bond, how much do you know of the organisation that's hired him?" "Little to nothing, I believe the service don't even have a file related to them." "Would you like to know more?" "Most certainly." "They are a group of various allied terrorist organisations headed by a board of directors." "The title they go under is 'железный кулак' which translates into English as 'The Iron Fist' but, so their spies never hear us talking about them, we call them 'Quantum'." "'железный кулак' that's a Russian title, do you think the Union could be involved?" "Possibly, but because we know so little about them, it's hard to tell. They could have been involved in the Cold War or they could not have been. All we really know about them is they have been working in the shadows for quite a while, in fact, the CIA even suspect they had a hand in the assassination of President Kennedy, or though this hasn't been confirmed, they seem to be quite good at covering their own tracks." "That's what you get when some of the most dangerous terrorist organisations that have ever existed band together underneath the rule of some of the most intelligent and crafty men that have ever been born." Bond replied. "You know, between that assassination and the subsequent attack on the Kremlin you pulled off Bond and your role in the capture of the men that tried to rob the stock exchange I wouldn't be surprised if they now had a vendetta against you." "You think my target was part of this 'Quantum' group?" "The CIA suspect it." There was a long pause in the conversation were Felix and Bond both ordered new drinks. When the conversation resumed, the topic was still on Quantum. "This Le Chiffre man is either part of that 'board of directors' or has been hired to temporarily manage the organisations funds as they try to escape bankruptcy" "He's not just managing their funds, Felix, he's trying to regain them." "Either way, he must be defeated at that table Bond, by either you or me." Felix finished his second drink. "Tell me, James, I can call you James can't I?" Bond nodded and Felix continued "You have been recording this conversation haven't you?" Bond replied "Every second of it." Bond lifted his phone out of his pocket, it was flashing the words 'recording' across the screen in bright red. Bond tapped a button and it immediately stopped. "I'm going to go outside and upload it soon, but first, tell me Felix, do you gamble often?" Felix replied "Yes, I'm a seasoned gambler." Bond smiled and asked Felix "Would like to have a go on the Roulette with me then? Maybe you'll get lucky." Bond and Felix then preceded to the Roulette tables in the next hall.

By the time Bond and Felix had finished their gambling, it was 10:45 AM. Bond said his farewells to Felix before setting back out across the town. He walked into the same dark, thin alley he walked through before and lent on the stonework. He sent the recording to Tanner before preceding to walk back out into the square. Bond quickly scanned the shops and cafes that surrounded him from all sides, he looked for a while, before finally spotting Vesper, Mathis and two bodyguards sitting at a table inside an expensive looking cafe. Bond entered the Cafe and sat at the spare seat, beside Mathis. "James, we've been expecting you for quite some time!" "Sorry I was late, I had some business at the Casino." "Was it with that man from the CIA MI6 mentioned?" Bond replied "Yes." "Is he the standard big shot CIA agent that thinks he can do this job alone and everyone else sent to 'assist' him is just baggage?" "No, actually." Bond replied. Mathis grinned "Surprising" he remarked. "So, what business are we gathered here to discuss today Mathis?" "Come, Mr Bond, I want to show you something." Vesper went to rise from her seat but Mathis stopped her. "Actually, my dear, this is a matter between just myself and James." Vesper sat down, looking annoyed. As Mathis and Bond walked out of the cafe, Bond looked back at Vesper, she was left sitting awkwardly at the table with Mathis's two bodyguards, one of which had shoulders so broad Bond wondered how he had even fit through the Cafe door. As soon as Mathis and Bond had left the cafe and were strolling through the square. Bond asked "Listen, Mathis, what is this about?" "All in good time, my friend." Replied Mathis, rather smugly. Meanwhile Vesper and the two bodyguards were still sitting there, awkwardly. Vesper opened her mouth, about to make some friendly conversation. But before she even began speaking she was interrupted by a combination of a loud 'BANG!' and what seemed like a light earthquake. Vesper watched her wine glass as it shook for a second before falling off the table and smashing on the floor. Vesper and the two bodyguards all smelled smoke, they all left the table at once and rushed outside. Vesper gasped as she saw a think cloud of smoke rising from the street right next to theirs. Two Minutes Previously Mathis told Bond to "Wait here" while he retrieved the car, indicating that they were leaving the town. As Bond waited on the sidewalk, he couldn't help but notice two strange men standing outside a tall building next to him. One had slicked-back black hair and a suspicious sort of look on his face, that, combined with his narrow, beady black eyes, made Bond doubt him. The second looked equally suspicious, but in a different way. He had a thick, black beard and a messy mop of hair. Both of them were wearing very cheap-looking suits. One of them entered the building, he returned a few seconds later carrying a small parcel. The second man took it from the first one and threw it across the road, towards Bond. Bond's secret service training reflexes kicked in and, without a moment's hesitation, he ran down the side walk, bracing himself as he went. He only ran for a few seconds before the explosion, the shock wave of which knocked him off his feet. While on the ground, Bond braced himself again as he felt rubble fall on him. Bond lay on the ground for a few seconds before getting up. As he did, coughing in the smoke. He noticed the rubble was in the wrong place. It should have been a few meters down the side walk from him, but it was, instead, where the two men had been standing. Although there was nothing left of them except several chunks of burnt flesh and human organs scattered among the rubble of the building they were standing outside of. Bond took a few seconds to take it all in, before brushing the rubble of his suit and walking down the side of the street that hadn't been blown up, towards Mathis.

When Bond got to Mathis he told him what had happened, Mathis asked if Vesper was okay and Bond replied that if she had stayed were she was, she should of been fine. Mathis and Bond went around several back-alleys to reach Vesper and the bodyguards, it was a long route, but it was now the only way to reach them, now that the Main Street had been destroyed. When they finally reached them they asked what they had seen (they had seen no more then Mathis had), before taking them with them to the car. As they drove, through the countryside Vesper asked Bond what had happened, and if he was alright. Bond explained in detail the scene to Vesper, but before he could ponder who the bombers were or what their objective was, they had pulled up at Mathis's estate. They got out and walked up the gravel drive-way. Vesper looked up at the mansion, it was of the same design as many of the other wealthy buildings in Montenegro. Bond walked with Mathis around the back of the house, where he saw, waiting for him, a brand new Aston Martin DBS V12. "Well it's about bloody time!" He joked as he walked around the side of the shiny silver car. "I haven't had a car on a job in I don't know how long!" Mathis laughed at Bond, who was now running his hands over the bonnet while gazing deep into his own replication in the metal with a grin on his face, Bond loved cars, especially small, but powerful ones like this Aston Martin. "I told them to get you a car as you've missed having one available in previous missions." Mathis said to Bond, he was still laughing. Even though Bond's day had been lightened up considerably by the presence of the car, it wasn't long before he started thinking about the Bomb blast again. Before he left Mathis's estate with the car, Bond asked Mathis to conduct an investigation into the bomb blast. "I want to know who it was aimed at, how the bomb went off in the wrong spot and who conceived the plan." Bond demanded to one of the guards before he left. Mathis walked out of the mansion and said "I can answer one of those questions for you already, James." "And what one is that?" Bond asked. "I know who it was aimed at..." Mathis replied. Bond looked surprised that Mathis already knew this information. "Go on" "James, it was aimed at you." Bond simply stared at Mathis, he had, of course, contemplated this guess, but it was only that, a guess. Bond simply replied "Maybe." Before walking of and sitting in his car, he drove off down the drive-way and out into the country-side without saying good-bye. Deep-down, Bond knew he had been over-confident of his abilities, and he knew because of his actions there would no-doubt be people after him, but he didn't want to accept it.

Chapter 8: Baccarat

Bond lay on the hotel bed for hours afterwards, well into the afternoon, lost in his own thoughts. He lost track of time while he contemplated the upcoming game, went over the plan of action and his general strategy, and thought about Vesper. It was strange, while their relationship was nothing but a working one, Bond found himself almost constantly looking forward to their next meeting. There was just something about her, she wasn't just beautiful, she had wit, she was intelligent and she had an air about her that Bond just found infatuating. Bond didn't think of himself as sexist, but he couldn't help but think often women got in the way of him and his job. He saw humanity as divided into nothing but two groups: Male and Female. There were women's jobs and there were men's jobs. Often, Bond saw working in the Secret Service as a man's job, even if she wasn't on the front lines, she was still working for the service. And when a woman did a man's job, and did it well, Bond couldn't help but admire them. Then he remembered M, she was a prime example of a woman doing a man's job, and doing it well. Vesper was the same as M, only Vesper was young, beautiful and didn't think of Bond as a 'sexist, misogynist dinosaur' (although she had said to him on the plane 'It wouldn't be a stretch to call you a cold-hearted bastard.') Bond didn't see a romantic relationship between them ever occurring, but he did enjoy her company during their working relationship time. As if on cue, Vesper slowly opened the door and peaked into the hotel room, she had probably thought Bond was asleep or wanted some privacy. Bond glanced up from the bed at her and nodded, she smiled at him and walked into the room, before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry I left you at the estate, I forgot you were still there, I shouldn't have left in such a hurry." She looked down at him, smiling "No, it's fine, one of Mathis's guards gave me a lift back here. The only problem was the lack of personality present in him, honestly, talking to those men is like talking to a particularly boring brick wall." Bond smiled before replying "Actually, you came at the opportune time, I was just thinking out the plan for tonight." "May I hear it?" "We can go over it after we are both ready." Vesper smiled, "Okay, I'll take the bathroom while you take this room." She walked off into the bathroom, holding several choices of clothes in her arms. Bond took out his clothes and began getting ready. He put on the crisp, clean white shirt and the bow tie. Soon he was wearing everything but his dinner jacket, he looked for it everywhere, but he couldn't find it, maybe Vesper had seen it. He knocked on the bathroom door, heard Vesper's voice say "Come in!" And entered. She was standing at the mirror, putting on some sort of make-up. "Have you seen my dinner jacket?" "Yes, it's right there." She pointed at a chair, on it lay a pure black and very expensive looking dinner jacket. Bond picked it up, this wasn't the right one. "Vesper, this isn't mine." "I know, you see, there are dinner jackets and then there are dinner jackets. This one is the latter. I need you to look like a man you belongs at that table." Bond felt the material, it was as soft as velvet, it was better stitched than his one too, so he thought he might as well give it a try. Bond slipped on the jacket, buttoned up the bottom section, straightened his bow tie and checked the pockets for any explosives (he trusted Vesper but it was now standard-procedure for Bond.) Vesper turned around, she smiled at Bond "Strange, unlike the other one it suits you perfectly. You now look like you were born into it." "It seems to be... Tailored." "I sized you up the moment we met." It was funny, because Bond also had an alternative outfit to give Vesper. He went into the bedroom and retrieved it, it was a beautiful, flowing dress made of blue velvet. He walked into the bathroom and gave it to her. She took it and ran her hands through it. "What is this?" She asked. "I need you looking beautiful, well, even more beautiful. I need you to make a dramatic entrance down the main staircase near the table before gliding down and kissing me on the cheek. You can help Mathis manage the funds while pretending to be talking to him as an old friend over a drink." "So you're planning on using me as a distraction..." Bond braced himself, Vesper's bad side was a terrible place to be. "...I think I can do that for you, provided I can get back to managing your money, doing what I'm supposed to be doing." "What happened to wearing slightly masculine clothing and having a prickly demeanour?" "Even accountants are allowed to wear glamorous clothing sometimes." Bond smiled and once again left her to her own devices. As he walked across the room and opened the door he pocketed a pistol and a knife, before calling out to her "I'll meet you at the Casino." She replied "Okay." Bond left the hotel and began walking across the town, towards the Casino, where the big game would soon begin. Bond walked into the large foyer before taking a right turn, walking down the same corridor with the bar he had met Felix in. When he turned the next corner he entered the roulette and poker halls, which also contained the Baccarat tables, including the private one Bond, Felix, Le Chiffre and the others would be playing on. He made his way across the hall, past the roulettes and into the separate room. There was only one man at the table, a man who looked like he was in his 70s, with his white hair and wrinkles. He was just sitting there, waiting for the other players to arrive, occasionally glancing at his watch. Bond turned around and spotted Mathis, standing by the entrance to the bar, accompanied by two body-guards, as usual. Bond walked over to him and began speaking in a quiet tone "So, Mathis, how goes the investigation on our suicidal friends?" "My men are onto it now, they'll probably have the full report to me ready to inform you by tomorrow morning, at the latest." Mathis spoke in a similarly quiet tone. Bond replied "They're efficient, I'll give them that. Anyway, I feel like a drink." Bond called over one of the waiters, they were dressed in expensive Italian outfits and were very efficient, in Bond's experience anyway. "Good-luck for the game, although I have complete faith in your ability to beat Le Chiffre, no matter how good a player he is." "Thank-you." the waiter marched over to Bond and took his order "A dry Martini" "Si, signore" The waiter went to walk away and pour the drink, but Bond stopped him "Wait... Add three measures of Gordon's; one of vodka; half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it over with ice, and add a thin slice of lemon peel." The waiter stood there for a moment, trying to take it in and remember it all, before replying with another "Si, signore." And going to pour the drink. But he was stopped again, this time by Mathis "My friend, bring me one of those too, remember to keep the fruit!" The waiter nodded and walked off to finally pour the drinks. As they waited, Mathis inquired about Vesper "Where is Vesper?" "She's coming soon, she's going to be waking down those stairs, over there." Bond nodded to the grand staircase which ran across the left side of the hall. The waiter served them the drinks, Bond tasted it for the first time. It was ice cold, and very... Exciting to drink. It seemed to be having a brutal fist-fight inside your mouth, with your tongue, your teeth the barriers, Bond liked it so much he decided he was going to think of a name for it, something that accurately described the taste and the sensation which it gave. They both drank their drinks in silence, Mathis looking nowhere in particular, and Bond watching the rest of the Baccarat players arrive and take their seats. Bond examined each one of the players, he knew you could judge a Baccarat player not by their appearance, but by the look in their eyes. Some people had that excitable look that made them a fierce and high-betting player, easy to topple but one that was rewarded greatly should they play their cards well enough to risk the money. There was also the private, yet very deadly player. The one that hardly ever spoke, but focused on instead staring down their opponents, making deadly bluffs, and adding their card values. Bond looked into the eyes of his opponents, that would give him a minor advantage when the game began if he knew what type of player they were, then he could call their bluffs easier and place his chips and bets either higher or lower at the start of the game. Of course, one could only get so much out of an opponents eyes pre-match, such was the beauty, and difficulty, of Baccarat. It was all about making decisions with high consequences, as much as any gambling game ever was. There were several people now seated at the table alongside the old man, next to him on the left side of the table was a tall, middle-aged woman, she had a cold, serious look in her eye. This, along with her expression-less face, suggested she was a very deadly player, one that would quietly and efficiently make her way around the table, annihilating anyone that gets in her way with high bets and clever plays of her cards. Beside the older man on the right side was a man who looked about the same age of the woman, but he had a much friendlier face. He didn't look like a serious gambler, one more concentrated on winning through pure luck than playing his opponents against each other. Bond knew he would probably get knocked out in the first few hours. He most likely didn't even know what was at stake here, as the secret service hadn't felt the need to inform the other players, it was better to keep them out of it. However, the CIA may have, as the CIA hardly ever informed MI6 of their actions, even when they were collaborating together on a mission. Bond made a mental note to ask Felix, his only friend in an organisation that was in an intense rivalry with MI6. More players started taking there seats, a very large and probably overweight dark-skinned American who didn't seem to speak, a woman who looked like she was in the same vein as the friendly-faced man (she had kissed him on the cheek) and a woman in her early 30s who was attacked by the Casino staff for taking out a cigar and trying to light it up. Smoking, once a staple of these grand, luxurious Casino's had been banned for about 3 years, at least in this particular Casino. Bond saw Felix take his place, followed by two more 40 year old men, and three men in black suits. One of them was skinny and Russian looking, another one was Asian and broad shouldered, he was wearing a boiler hat. The third was short and broad, he was in possession of an oddly thick and misshapen cane. Only one of them took a seat, it was the skinny one. They were accompanied shortly after by a woman with blond hair and blue eyes and Le Chiffre himself. The two of them took their places at the table, Bond saw Le Chiffre nod to the other two men in the group. They must have all been members of Le Chiffre's guard, perhaps even his personal bodyguards. This wasn't good, Le Chiffre had control over almost half the table, if Bond wanted to shift the odds in his favour, he would have to knock both the blonde-haired woman and the bodyguard out early. Bond excused himself from Mathis's company and walked over to the table, he took his seat. he was in-between the friendly-faced man and woman and directly opposite to Le Chiffre. Having taken his Martini with him, Bond took another sip as he looked over at Le Chiffre, he was seemingly deep in conversation with the bodyguard, but every so often his eyes would flick away from the bodyguard and onto Bond himself. Eventually, Le Chiffre ended his conversation and turned to Bond "So, you must be Mr Bond, I've been notified you are most-likely the best player on the table." He spoke in a cold, raspy drawl. The woman smiled and laughed a horrible, screechy laugh. "He's being modest! He knows he's the best, and I could bet all my chips on it you do too." She said to Bond through a thick, Russian accent. Le Chiffre outstretched his arm towards Bond, Bond took it and shook it, his fingers were as cold as ice. They both stared into each others faces, each man trying to decide what moves the other would most likely make. It was a mental assault, the mind putting up defences in the shape of emotionless eyes and expressionless faces. Luckily, Bond was born with the gift of a cold, emotionless face. That, and he always seemed to have good luck. After several seconds, they both withdrew their hands and discontinued their attacks. "I'm Le Chiffre, as you no doubt already know and this is Tatyana, my wife." "Pleasure to make your acquaintances." Bond replied in his icy cold tone he employed when talking to his enemies. Bond and Le Chiffre both relaxed and turned their gazes off each other for a moment. Bond got into a rather lengthy conversation on Russian politics (a topic of which Bond was well-versed) with both the man and the woman on his left and right. He found out they were a couple, as he had presumed, and their names were Mr and Mrs Barker, they were both British. Eventually, the Banker showed up and they were ready to begin the game. They were each dealt a sum of the chips and a card deck, Bond shuffled his cards and placed them all face-down on the table. Le Chiffre did the same, only he took a handful of his chips as a reservation. Once everyone had received their cards and chips and got into position, the Banker took his own chip pile and retrieved the pallet, and the game began. Mr Barker was first, he played it safe, betting only a small portion on Le Chiffre's henchman's cards, it was a good starting move, but Bond still thought he was likely to get knocked early, unless he was lucky. The Banker went around the table, everyone's turns were pretty uneventful and boring, with no-one placing very high bets and no interesting cards of strategy's employed. Eventually, something interesting happened, although it wasn't related to the game. Bond felt a shadow pass over him, he turned to his right to see Vesper's face next to his. She had her hair down to her shoulders and she was wearing the dress Bond had given her. She kissed him on the cheek, whispering in his ear as she did it "How is it going?" "Quite uneventful so far, but it's only just begun. And I thought you were meant to make a dramatic entrance down the staircase?" He muttered back. "Was I? I'm sorry." Despite this, she still had managed to distract much of the table. Bond took another sip from his Martini. "I'm trying to think of a good name for this new drink." You glanced over at her, her blue eyes gave him an idea. "I think I'll call it the Vesper." "Because of the bitter after-taste?" She retorted. "No, because after you taste it, that's all you want to drink." He replied. She smiled at him and walked away, loudly wishing him luck as she went. Bond watched as a large portion of the table's eyes followed her as she walked across the hallway, towards Mathis. "Can we get back to playing Baccarat now?!" Le Chiffre exclaimed, he sounded annoyed. Vesper sat down on a stool besides Mathis. "I suppose you don't need me to tell you that you look absolutely beautiful." Vesper smiled and ordered a drink. "So, has he made any risky moves yet, has anyone?" Vesper glanced over at the table, she could see Bond, staring down at his cards, in deep concentration. "I don't think so, everything seems quiet for now." And quiet it was, the game continued from then on at a leisurely pace, Bond quickly found a rival in Felix, who turned out to be skilled at bluffing, but his real competitor was Le Chiffre, who tended to take other people's turns whenever they offered it by paying them off, before using this advantage against them. He also seemed to have incredible luck, one 30 minute portion had him receive a perfect 9 set of cards three times in arrow, adding multipliers to other people's bets and using them to receive a healthy supply of chips. Eventually, the Banker interrupted the game during Bond's turn, by explaining that they had been playing now for three hours, and a short 2 hour break before the last session of the night was in order. Bond passed his cards and chips to the Banker, before setting off through the hall to where Vesper was sitting, Bond wondered why she was by herself. She was drinking some sort of cocktail and seemed to be looking through a transaction record. Bond sat down at the stool on her right. "Where's Mathis?" He asked. "He walked off with some of his bodyguards half an hour ago, something about the bomb blast, said he shouldn't be long." Bond glanced around, he could see Le Chiffre walking across the hall towards the exit to the town, accompanied by Tatyana. He was being followed a few meters behind by some dark-skinned men wearing suits with no logos, there were about 5 of them. They didn't look like they were guarding Le Chiffre, in fact, one of them was holding a pistol, which was partially hidden underneath the cuffs of his suit and pointed towards Le Chiffre himself. "Vesper, have you seen those men before?" Vesper looked up from the record and glanced over to where Bond's finger was pointing. "Yes, they seemed to be playing a game of Poker while you where facing Le Chiffre. I heard a snatch of conversation from one of them mentioning Le Chiffre as 'Not having the balls to make any risky moves' and being 'A waste of money and resources.'" "Vesper, come with me, it's not safe here to leave you on your own without Mathis." Bond grabbed her by the arm and rose from the bar. He started marching with Vesper across the hall, following the men. Vesper asked what they were doing, Bond replied by opening her purse and retrieving a pistol equipped with a silencer from it, much to Vesper's surprise. He loaded the gun, the situation with Le Chiffre was about to get more complicated.

Chapter 9: The Cold Stare of Death

"How the hell did you get that in there?" Vesper exclaimed, in shock. "The purse came with the dress, remember? I put both the gun and the silencer in there in-case we needed a little more... Subtle firepower, just as well I did." Bond slipped the gun into the cuff of his dinner jacket's sleeve and pulled Vesper around and into a narrow back alley. He peeked around the edge of the wall to see the group of the men still walking behind Le Chiffre, he apparently hasn't noticed them yet, he seemed to be talking in an angry, yet hurried and quiet tone to Tatyana. Bond hadn't realised Le Chiffre was staying at the hotel alongside Bond and Vesper, he assumed he would at least sleep in his villa, seeing that it was as well-guarded as it was. Or perhaps this was where Tatyana was staying for whatever reason, and Le Chiffre was just escorting her home, albeit badly, as he had failed to notice the group of gun wielding men following them. Bond guessed Le Chiffre assumed he though they were part of his private guard, and perhaps they were. Whoever they were, they wanted to kill him. Bond and Vesper continued to follow them across the town, taking cover behind walls and tables whenever necessary. Eventually they were in one of the hotel's main lift's, pursuing both Le Chiffre and the men, who has taken separate lift's a few minutes earlier.

Meanwhile, In Tatyana's Hotel Room:

Le Chiffre was staring outside the large window in Tatyana's hotel room, at the town. It was shrouded, covered in the thick blanket of night. They were arguing in Russian, and had both failed to notice the group of five men standing in the room watching them, until Le Chiffre turned his cold gaze around, and saw them. He spoke, this time in English "Thank-you, gentlemen for escorting us, you can leave now." They didn't move. Le Chiffre spoke again, this time in a more raised tone "Thank-you gentlemen, you may leave now." They still didn't move, except for the leader, who slowly walked up to Le Chiffre. Le Chiffre was quite tall, by the leader towered over him, his face was covered in sweat, and he grinned a horrible smile. "Your domestic issues would be most intriguing to us, if we could speak Russian, that is." Despite his best efforts, the man didn't intimidate Le Chiffre in the slightest. He spoke in his usual cold drawl, glancing at the small 'Q' pin that as adorned his logo-less suit. "So I hear the more lower-ranking members of our staff have taken to using the name the CIA have given us, instead of our real title. You do realise if the American Government pick up on those pins they'll know they can't talk about us safely anymore, then things will get tricky, for both us and them." "STOP STALLING!" the leader suddenly yelled, before resuming his usual sneering, quiet tone. "You know why we are here." Le Chiffre nodded. "You're not one of mine, he sent you." The leader smiled his cruel smile "Yes, him. He used to have complete faith in you, but looking over your recent... Failures, we are having second thoughts over whether you will ever be able to get our money back." Le Chiffre kept calm, he wasn't going to resort to pleading, that would be a foolish mistake to make and might even get him killed, these men were ruthless, as it was the only nature they knew. "Give me more time, the game has only just begu..." "NO! You'll get that money back or we will be forced to renounce you from the board of directors, by Mr White's order." "What do you need me to do to regain your trust?" The man smiled a brutal smile "I have an idea." He held his arm out, one of the other men retrieved a machete and placed it in his hand. Le Chiffre's normally cold and blank eyes were filled with fear, the man ordered one of the men to grab Tatyana, she screamed as he pulled her into his grip, and while he held her breathing remained heavy and stressed-out. Le Chiffre was relived to know they would be targeting Tatyana, and not him. The man holding her breathed down her neck, the leader walked towards her, smiling horribly as he did so. "Hold out your arm." Tatyana shook her head violently and struggled against the man's grip. The man broadened his smile, and rubbed his fingers against the machete's grip. "Hold out your arm, my pretty. Our I'll have your head!" She screamed and tried to resist but the man holding her gripped her more firmly and held her arm out in the open. The leader raised the machete and glanced over at Le Chiffre. His face remained blank, he was simply staring at Tatyana's arm. Le Chiffre concentrated his hardest on showing no emotion, just like in Baccarat. Also just like in Baccarat, he couldn't appear weak to these men, he was already in trouble for being responsible for the missing money, and he was trying to get it back. He knew they wouldn't show anymore mercy if he showed fear, so that's exactly what he tried not to do. The leader turned his head back to Tatyana, and brought the machete down fast. It was approaching her arm, soon it would slice directly through the skin, muscle and bone that was present there. Tatyana let out an almighty screech, which both Bond and Vesper (who were listening from the corridor outside) could hear. However, the leader stopped his attack on Tatyana's arm just before it made contact with the machete. He smiled the horrible smile and said to Tatyana "He didn't even flinch, you should find a better husband, my dear." He made a gesture to the man holding Tatyana to let her go, and that's what he did, throwing her hysterical body onto the floor. The leader gestured again, this time it was aimed at the whole group of them, and they all left the room one-by-one. It was a test, a test of nerves, of dedication, and Le Chiffre had passed it. Bond and Vesper had heard the whole fiasco from inside the corridor that connected Tatyana's room to their own. When they heard the sound of 5 pairs of feet moving all at once, they both took cover behind a set of two pot-plants. Bond looked through the greenery to see all 5 of the men, he was going to leave them be, but they were members of this 'Quantum' organisation, as far as he had heard, and Bond though the world would be better off without them. He aimed the silenced pistol at the man taking up the back of the group, and fired. None of the other men heard the bullet hit the man nor his eventual death, as he fell onto the ground. Bond crouched down, moving through the corridor towards the second last man, Bond reached out his hands and went to silently snap his neck. But he was too fast for Bond, he spun around and went to punch Bond in jaw, alerting the other men of Bond's presence in the process. Bond blocked him and grabbed him by the arm, using it to slam him into the wall, his head breaking the pot of a plant in the process. Bond aimed the gun and sent a bullet into his skull. Vesper watched as Bond went to start on the other three men, but they followed their leader, who had ran into a room behind a flung-open door. Bond ran into the room and looked down, it was a deep, long stairwell. As the other three men retreated into the stairwell, Bond and Vesper gave pursuit. In their haste to get away from Bond, they had failed to lock the door, and before long Bond and Vesper were pursuing the men, down the stairwell, which contained about 6 flights of stairs. One of the men pulled out a small pistol and started shooting at Bond and Vesper, Bond pushed Vesper into an increment in the wall, while he himself took cover near the railing, he felt the bullets narrowly miss him. Cocking his own pistol, Bond jump onto the next landing and shot at the man several times, all but one missed him. The only successful shot of Bonds' hit him in the leg. Screaming in pain, the man doubled over. Bond ran towards him and grabbed him by neck. The man resisted by kicking Bond furiously. Bond simply shrugged off the blows and returned the favour by disarming him, before throwing his gun off the railing. The man screamed, alerting the other two men. To stop his screaming and end his resistance, Bond slammed the man's head into the wall, knocking him unconscious. The other two men had almost reached the bottom of the stairwell, and they were approaching the door. Checking to see if Vesper was okay, and seeing she was still hiding in the increment. Bond fired of a few shots to alert the other two men, while they were distracted, Bond climbed onto the railing and jumped. He landed on the platform several meters below him. The other two men had seen him, they continued their assault on him by firing relentlessly. However, Bond was too fast. He ducked and dogged their bullets as he ran down the last two flights of stairs. He jumped onto the railing beside him and used it to leap down the last flight, onto the floor were the two men were. The second one was still firing at Bond, however, the first one was now trying to open the door. "Shit! It's locked! It won't open!". The second man was too focused on Bond to care about the door though, as Bond had now jumped from the railing and was airborne. But he was coming down, fast. As if in slow-motion, the second man saw Bond's feet hit his face. Bond landed, on his feet, and the second man lay on the ground, his neck broken and his face kicked in, he was dead. The first man unleashed his fury on Bond, who blocked his punches and kicks seemingly without effort. In a rage, the first man extracted a small, but sharp knife from his pockets and went to stab Bond. Bond grabbed his arms and held him back. They struggled for a few seconds, as the knife went back and forth between the man's chest, and Bond's. Vesper watched, in horror, as the two men clashed, like two stags locked in battle. Bond continued to struggle with the man for a few more seconds, but then, he relaxed. Taking this opportunity, the man plunged the knife into Bond's stomach. But before the knife broke his skin, Bond hit the man on the back, flipping him over. The man retaliated by leaping up from the floor and kicking Bond in the stomach. Bond punched the man in the face, breaking several teeth and leaving the mans face bloody and twisted. The man screamed and punched Bond in the face, returning his blow. This shook Bond for a second, but he managed to get himself together and return the blow, this time he kicked the man in the stomach. The man grabbed the railing and the wall in resistance, but this only served to make the blow worse. Staggering and tripping, the man was nearing the state of unconsciousness. Bond took the opportunity and drew his pistol out of his pocket, within a second, the man was dead. Bond had shot him through the chest.

Bond glanced up and checked on Vesper once again. She was making her way down the stairwell, she looked fine, if a little shaken. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she took a look at the two dead bodies and, seeing the damage, let out a gasp. One man had a blank, icy expression on his face, blood was flowing out of his chest. He looked beaten, but not as bad as the second dead man. His body was covered in cuts, bruises and blood and his face was horribly disfigured. His nose was broken, his cheeks were covered in blood and his forehead was kicked in. It took a lot of self-control for Vesper to not allow herself to vomit, as that was what she felt like doing. "Bond looked at her disgusted facial expression. "Vesper, listen, I want you to call Mathis and get him to get some men in here and dispose of the bodies, tell him what happened, and tell him we're both okay. Do that now, I'm going to clean myself up." As Vesper climbed the stairs, Bond looked down at himself. His right shoulder was aching and his once pristine suit was covered in blood. He had several bruises in places all around his body. And his face ached liked it had been hit repeatedly with a hammer, although thankfully that hadn't happened. Bond then climbed the stairs, following Vesper. He walked up the stairs, through the door, down the hallway, and into his room. He entered the bathroom and lent over the sink, he contemplated the day. He wasn't winning against Le Chiffre, but he wasn't losing either. If he could gain the upper hand somehow, he may have chance... Bond then unbuttoned his shirt and examined his wounds. On his chest the damage was worse then he first thought. Several bruises, a few minor knife wounds and his shoulder ached horribly, he even felt what could be a broken rib, although he doubted it was actually broken, as he hadn't received a blow there. He went out into the room. Vesper was not back yet. He checked under the bed, in the wardrobe and many other places for traps and bugs, as that was the second attempt on his life in the space of two days, he thought he could never be too careful. Thankfully, nothing of worry was present, and Bond took a pain soothing cream and a bottle of alcohol. He then retreated back into the bathroom. As he dabbed and rubbed the wounds with the cream, he wondered where Vesper was, she should of been quicker than this. It was probably nothing, but he couldn't help but be worried, after all, she was a necessary part of the mission, and if she was captured, he'd have no choice but to save her. Bond told himself he was being stupid, she was a capable woman and if she did get captured he wouldn't save her out of 'being a hero' he's save her for the sake of the mission. Vesper was nice and he enjoyed her company, but there was nothing but a working relationship between them, he would make sure of that. Bond finished rubbing the cream into his wounds and poured some of the drink into a glass. He drank it all in one go. Bond enjoyed this particular brew, it helped him relax. Although Bond had told himself he wouldn't need to worry about Vesper, he couldn't help but wonder if she was back yet. He opened the door and walked into the room. He scanned the room for any signs of suspicion. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for a broken glass laying on Vespers' bedside table. He walked up to it and examined it for a second, however, his concentration was broken when he heard the sound of light water. He followed the sound into the shower where he saw Vesper, fully clothed, sitting on the floor of the shower. She was soaking and a light trickle of water was running onto her head. Bond walked into the shower and sat next to her. Her eyes were red, like she had been crying and she was rocking back and forth slightly. She grabbed his arm and drew herself closer to him. Without speaking she raised her hand and showed him the cuts the glass had caused. Bond took the cream he had used that was still in his hands and rubbed it into the wounds. After he had finished he asked "Is that better?" She still didn't speak, just nodded slowly. They sat together for a little while, before Vesper finally spoke. "D-does it b-bother you, k-k-killing those p-people?" Bond starred into the glass for a second, at his reflection. After a while he replied. "Yes." Vesper put her head on his shoulder and together they sat, until 2:00 in the morning, when Bond had to get up and continue the game.

Chapter 10: The Second Day

When Bond got back to the table Le Chiffre commented "You've changed your suit, Mr Bond. I do hope our game isn't causing you any stress." "A little, but I don't consider myself to be in any trouble until I start weeping blood." As if on cue, Le Chiffre's scarred eye started bleeding, he took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed it briefly, before taking out an inhaler and using it. Bond mentally attacked him as he did these things, Le Chiffre, like most of the table, had been playing it safe so far, seemingly calculating all the odds as low and placing accordingly low bets. But after the incident in Tatyana's hotel room, he seemed far more determined to win. He was placing risky bets now, and was offering up far less turns to the Banker. Le Chiffre returned the gaze to Bond, as the two men's minds grappled, each trying to gain the upper hand on the other, Bond was suddenly snapped back to reality by Tatyana calling a bluff Felix's. Bond watched as Felix put a large portion of his chips in and the Banker swooped down on him and flipped the pallet around, revealing his cards. Tatyana had placed everything on this bluff, she seemed to think she had to be right, because if she was wrong, she would lose most of her funds. And without a back-up supply like Le Chiffre had, it wouldn't be long before her only chance of survival was that of her cards. The pallet was flipped over, and Felix smiled, he had proved her wrong, and now she was close to being removed from the game. Bond had placed a small bet on Felix's cards, so her collected his chips from inside the table, the rest of the table had to split Tatyana's lost chips evenly, with the largest portion going to Felix himself. The turns went around the table, eventually reaching Bond himself, he decided to take no risks and simply wipe out Tatyana, then one less player would stand in the way of him and Le Chiffre. Bond looked over at her, she seems quite shaken after the events in her hotel room, but she still had both of her arms. Bond noticed she kept glancing over her shoulder, she seemed to have become paranoid, and she was ignoring Le Chiffre. Bond took advantage of her current state and bluffed, he had several multiplier's in his hands and a perfect 9. Even if she called his bluff, she would still be wiped out from the game. But she didn't see through him, managing her chips bad,y, she put the rest of them in the centre of the table, the whole table was now playing for the rest of her chips. Bond opened his mouth and said the magic words "Banco." The Banker swooped down on him and flipped his cards over. The perfect 9, combined with the multipliers, meant Tatyana had been wiped from the table. The game had claimed it's first causality.

When Bond woke the next morning he had immediate déjà vu, there were birds singing in the tree outside the window, Vesper had already left his company, and morning light was spilling into the room, just like the previous morning. The game was left the previous night when the smoking woman was staked by the Banker, but she made a risky bluff and lost it all to Le Chiffre's bodyguard when he proved her wrong and the Banker flipped his cards over. The game's table was not the perfect sight it had been a few hours ago, right now it was a bloody battlefield, with Tatyana and the smoking woman's bodies both buried underneath the pile of rubble and ruin that was their cards and chips. Bond didn't fell remorse for either of them, the less people involved in the game, the more it was just a private match between Le Chiffre, Felix and himself, and the better it was. The other's were just baggage, they were just there to even out the odds. The door opened, Bond glanced around to see not Vesper's face, as he had expected, but Mathis's. "Where were you last night? We had to take on a group of terrorists without you." "I'm terribly sorry James, I did get your message about the group of men but there was an unexpected... Development in the case of our suicidal friends." Bond leaned across the bed towards where Mathis was standing. "Go on, I'm listening." Mathis walked over to Bond's bedside table and poured himself a glass of vodka, before explaining what had happened. "Well, after the attack my men conducted a full investigation, as you had requested, and they quickly found both the manner of which the explosion was caused and the intention. The bomb was a 'sensor-triggered lock-on' bomb which meant there were two of them. One of them had a small button which, one pressed, would trigger a lock-on mechanism. The opposite bomb would then explode after a certain period of time had passed. They were developed by the Soviet's during the Cold War, as a means to divert the enemy governments attention away from the real target, before they triggered a nuclear attack." "So, I assume they got the two pieces of the puzzle mixed up?" "Yes, they threw the wrong one and once the button was pressed down when it hit the pavement, the bomb they were holding exploded, killing them through a combination of debris and severe burning in the scar tissue." "So the explosion didn't kill them instantly?" "It certainly had a hand in it but no, it was't the only culprit, according to the autopsy." Bond poured himself some of the vodka as well "And what of this 'development' that had you leaving in such a hurry last night?" "It turns out the man who planned it wasn't on the sight at the time of the explosion, he was staying at a hotel, up in the mountains. Thinking the job was done, and you were dead, he returned here. My men spotted him and alerted me immediately. He tried to run, but we gave chase and eventually caught and interrogated him." Bond took a sip from the vodka glass "Did he tell you anything?" "No, he could apparently only speak Russian, and we had no-one on site who could translate him for us." "Did he mention anything about an 'Iron Fist'?" Mathis took another sip of the vodka and looked nowhere in particular, his face had a look of deep concentration of it, then he relaxed and spoke again "Ah! Yes, I think I did hear something about that." Bond nodded before asking "And how do you know the attack was definitely aimed at me." Mathis swallowed his mouthful of vodka before answering "We don't, we can only make informed guesses, which means we can't link it to Le Chiffre and we can't end this quickly, without the whole 'high-stakes game of Baccarat' thing." Bond noticed a small, burnt object in Mathis's hand. "Can I see that, Mathis?" Bond gestured towards his hand. Mathis raised his arm and opened his palm, on it was a small, burnt and rusted pin in the shape of a capital 'Q'. "We found it in the wreckage, does it mean anything to you?" "Yes, I think this attack was aimed at me after-all, Mathis. Tell me, what did you do with the bodies of the men in the stairwell?" Mathis finished his glass of vodka before walking over to the window and pulling the curtains apart completely. He gestured for Bond to join him "Here, let me show you." Bond walked over to the window to see the hotel car park, the Asian bodyguard of Le Chiffre's was being questioned by police officers for some reason, they were arguing in heated Italian. Mathis smiled and turned over to Bond "Being dead doesn't mean one can't be useful." He took out the keys to the bodyguards car and pressed the button to them, Mathis and Bond both watched as the boot opened, revealing the dead bodies of the leader and two of the men. Bond smiled as the bodyguard was restrained by the police-man and handcuffed. Mathis roared with laughter as Bond exclaimed "Well, that's one more extra player out of the way." Regaining his composure, Mathis looked out further over the car park. Bond also looked out, he could see Vesper walking down the slide walk, presumably going out for breakfast. Mathis noticed Bond looking at Vesper, he smiled and leaned in closer to Bond "So has our girl melted your cold heart yet?" Bond ignored him, he was still concentrating on Vesper, lost in his own thoughts.

That night Bond left for the Casino, the game would begin at 7:00 PM and would probably last most of the night, it may even run into the next day if everyone kept stalling like they were so far. Bond dressed in a new tuxedo, luckily Vesper's high-quality dinner jacket hadn't been too badly damaged or stained with blood during the stairwell fight, so Bond could wear it again along with his new shirt, bow tie and trousers. Bond told Vesper to meet him at the Casino when she was ready, as usual with women, Bond knew she would take a while. Bond had told Mathis to meet him at the Casino at 6:45 PM, and it was know 6:40 PM. The town was quiet, apart from the odd couple arguing loudly in Italian as they storm out of a restaurant or bar, the female usually in tears. Walking down the complex of back-alleys, Bond soon looked out to see the grand, lit-up complex of the Casino ahead, this was where it would end. Eventually, Bond found himself in the Poker and Baccarat halls, awaiting Mathis at the bar. Mathis eventually showed up, accompanied on either side by bodyguards. Mathis sat down on the stool on Bond's right, he leaned close to him and muttered in his ear "They're both heavily armed, we can't afford to take any chances, and I realise it was foolish to leave you and Vesper alone that night." Bond looked up from his drink (he was drinking a 'Vesper' again) and replied "You don't need to worry about me, Rene. They didn't kidnap us, we went after them. And in-case you forgot I've been on more field assignments this year than you have in your whole career." Sounding disgruntled, Mathis replied "I'm sorry, James, but it pay's to be safe. I can guarantee you still sleep with a gun underneath your pillow, even more so now there has been two attempts on your life in the space of two days." Bond heard the Banker call out to all of the Baccarat players to join him as they were beginning the game. Bond drained his glass and rose from his seat, making his way across the grand hall towards the private room. Bond was accompanied half-way there by Vesper. The dress Bond gave her had been torn and stained with blood (and water) the previous night so she was wearing a new one, it was made out a black material which was decorated in stripes, making their way around her torso to form a sort of... Spider-web effect. Her dark hair had been done into a intricate and complex bun. Bond smiled at her and raised his arm, she took it and together they walked across the rest of the hall towards the table. When they both got there Bond saw most of the players were present, the only one's missing were Le Chiffre's bodyguard, the smoking woman and Tatyana, who Bond had passed on his way to the table. She seemed to be busy gambling on the roulette's and had seemingly not noticed Bond. The Banker was accompanied by a short, bald man wearing a suit and tie. The other notable difference to the previous night was the presence of a small device with a keypad and screen, which had been placed on the Baccarat table alongside the perfectly preserved pallet, cards and chips. The Banker cleared his throat loudly, which successfully got every players attention, and began speaking. "Good-evening everyone, tonight we shall be creating the accounts you will be using shall you win the game. Using these accounts you will be able to redeem and transfer your winning's with ease, alongside the transacted chips who have won, that is. I do hope have all brought your credit cards with you." They all nodded and the Banker continued, gesturing to the short man "Now this here is Mr Mendel, he will be instructing you on what to do next and is in charge of the machine and the money's successful transaction in general. If you have any questions, ask him." The Banker nodded to Mendel and he stepped forward, he opened his mouth and begun to speak, he spoke with a Swiss accent. "To create your new account and access it's details you will be required to do only one thing, that is enter a password into the decoder." He gestured towards the device on the table. "One-by-one, you will each cover your hand as you enter a password, this will be used to determine the rest of your account details and is an essential part of transacting your winning's. Now, who would like to go first?" Bond stepped forth and turned to the device. Mendel whispered in his ear "6 letters or more, Mr Bond." Bond turned down to the decoder and first entered his credit card into the machine, before starting to make up a password. When he had one, he began typing it into the machine. 8-3-7-7-3-7. After he had finished, he pressed the 'complete' button and the machine processed the password. He informed Mendel he had finished and the next player was called out. Bond had taken extra care to make sure his password was known by no-one other than himself, as he knew Le Chiffre or one of his bodyguards would no-doubt be watching his hands. After everyone was done the player's took their seats, Vesper called out "Good-luck darling!" Which successfully distracted half the table for a second time, the Banker dealt all the cards and chips and the game began. Bond was doing very well this session, Le Chiffre had relaxed a bit since the previous night and had yet to take any player's out, but Bond knew he had a strategy, and the only other player on the table he was hoping to take out was Bond himself. Bond's turn came and he drew a new card from the deck, it was a 5. Bond glanced down at his already accumulated cards, he had a 2 and a king, it meant nothing. If he passed his next turn over to the Banker, he had a chance of gaining chips from the other player's bets, but so did Le Chiffre. Mr Barker's turn came next and he placed a bet on Bond, seemingly thinking he had a low combination of cards. The next turn was Le Chiffre's, Bond watched as Le Chiffre tried to break Bond's defences, tried to open up his mind and pull out the objects that were residing there. Bond looked back at him with his iciest glare, he was determined to win this battle of wits. Bond watched as Le Chiffre's hand held the fistful of reserved chips inside the bars that were his fingers. Every few seconds he was flicking a chip up before passing it down into his grip again, absent-mindedly. To throw Le Chiffre off the scent, Bond's eyes passed down onto his cards, and he smiled. Le Chiffre stared at him for a few more seconds before opening his mouth "Banco" he drawled. The Banker swooped down upon him and piled his current chips into the middle of the table, directly in front of Bond. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now playing for all of Signore Le Chiffre's central funds, which accumulate to 10 million pounds worth of chips." Bond gazed at the massive pile of chips in front of him, Le Chiffre was taking a huge risk here, he clearly wanted to end the game quickly, and he presumed Bond had cards worth nearly nothing. Bond tried his hardest not to smile, otherwise Le Chiffre would withdraw the bet and they would all be back to square one. Next was the large, dark-skinned American's turn, he placed a 5000 pound bet on Felix's cards. Felix was next, and when he placed his cards he found himself forced into a transaction with the large American next to him. The cards equaled a small pay-out at the conclusion of every round, if Felix didn't get a large sum of money from... Somewhere, he would soon be bankrupt. Mrs Barker was next, she offered her turn up to the Banker, he flipped her cards over in return for a small pay-out from Mr Barker. As much as Mr Barker presumably didn't want his wife to be in debt, that was the game's rules, and he had to follow them. Now it was Bond's turn, he was the only player on the table, besides Le Chiffre, who actually stood a chance on collecting that amount of chips. If Bond got those chips, he would not only have the adequate amount of funds to continue, he would be able to fund cards of his choosing from his deck for rounds to come. Providing he played his cards right, he could easily defeat Le Chiffre with those extra chips, as he now only had the back-up funds to play with. Bond looked over at Le Chiffre, how was he going to get those chips? Le Chiffre looked back at him, his eye was bleeding again, he dabbed at it and inhaled again. Seeng his concentration broken, Bond searched for a way to get the chips, then he realised. He realised what Le Chiffre was doing, by putting most of his chips on the line, he was playing them against each other, until eventually he was the only player left on the table, and by default he would have the money to support terrorism on a mass scale for years and years to come. All Bond needed to do was replace Le Chiffre's bet with a much larger one, one that would over-scale it and force Le Chiffre to return the chips, then Bond could play back the money. The only problem was Bond didn't know how to get the chips up there, he didn't want to play it yet, as he thought if he left it another turn Mr Barker and the large American would be wiped out when playing for Le Chiffre's chips, and the less people getting in the way of his plan, the better it would play out. But Bond had to do something now... He eventually decided to just play out his plan, he placed all 10 thousand pounds worth of chips on the table, it was an equal amount to Le Chiffre's, which meant Le Chiffre himself was forced to retake his chips, he scowled at Bond, Bond smiled in return. The Banker said the usual "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now playing for Signore Bond's central funds, which accumulate to 10 million pounds worth of chips." The game continued, and Mrs Barker was knocked out by Le Chiffre during a bet on his cards. After his wife was defeated, Mr Barker also left the game, leaving the rest of his chips in the centre of the table, making the accumulated pile worth 13 million pounds. Now it was just the large American, Felix, Le Chiffre and Bond himself. When it came to Le Chiffre's turn, he decided to make a bet on Bond's cards. The only catch being if he won, the Banker would stake him by giving him a portion of 5 million pounds from the table's centre. Unfortunately for Bond, the Banker agreed to the proposal. Le Chiffre resided his attack on Bond, Bond glared back at him, he wouldn't let Le Chiffre break him, he couldn't. There was too much at stake here, too many lives on the line. Bond glanced down at his cards, he had a 3 and an Ace, the Ace could half a bet, but because Bond don't have it in conjunction with another 'number' card he couldn't use it. All Bond could do was bluff his way out the situation and pray Le Chiffre didn't see through him. Bond watched Le Chiffre, trying to understand his body language, he was flipping the chips in his right hand, and his left hand was shuffling 3 cards at once. Each card was put through a rigorous training course in which it was slid against the table, flipped and slapped down on the green surface. Eventually, after what seem like an eternity of waiting and showing his most blank facial expression, Le Chiffre finally blinked and opened his mouth "12 million pounds on a 3 and an Ace." All the colour in Bond's face drained, he had lost it, lost it all. The Banker walked over to Bond's seat and flipped over his cards, he flipped over both the 3 and the Ace. Le Chiffre smiled a horrible, disgusting smile of victory and took all of Bond's chips, every single one of them. Bond had lost everything.

Chapter 11: The Third Attempt

The world had ended, so why had the game not? Bond sat there, in shock, he could still see, but he wasn't concentrating on what was ahead of him. He could see Le Chiffre's horrible smile, he could see the look of disappointment soon to be placed on Mathis and Vespers faces when he told them what had happened. Bond heard the same Casino sounds as usual, the cheers of a crowd, the sound of chatter and the Banker telling the rest of the table that "Signore Bond has been completely wiped from the table by Signore Le Chiffre and his chips are now in the Signore's possession. Signore Bond, would you please leave the table." Bond stood up and walked away from the table, leaving the chair pushed out and the cards and chips still sprawled over the table. Bond was moving, but he couldn't feel his legs working, he seemed to be floating, in limbo, through a world which wasn't important anymore. His mind was wandering, it was on it's own course, but his bodily functions were still in activation. Bond turned his head to see Felix's disappointed face, he glanced back down to see everything else out of focus. Eventually, his legs carried him to the bar, where Mathis and one of his bodyguards were sitting. The world was a blur, a jumble of random, muffled and unintelligible sounds and incomprehensible visuals. Bond shook his head and regained his focus on Mathis. It was only just now that the full realisation of his loss kicked in, it felt awful. Mathis looked at Bond, who had a horrible, defeated look on his face "James, are you alright? Do you need a drink?" Mathis's voice was full of concern. Eventually, Bond's dry throat moistened and he finally found his voice. "It's-it's over Mathis." "What do you mean 'it's over'?" Mathis replied, sounding interested to hear what had happened. "It's done, finished, Le Chiffre has beat me, I've lost all my money to him. I took a risk, and paid dearly for it." "So he's beaten you?" Bond was once again at a loss for words, he searched and searched for them, before eventually replying, in a croaky voice "Yes." "I'm sorry James." Bond glared at him "What do you mean 'you're sorry' what's there to be sorry about? It's done, finished, it's in the past." "James, I understand, but I thought you, an experienced gambler, would be used to defeat by now?" Bond stared down at the floor, he couldn't bear to look at Mathis and see the disappointment in his eyes. "It's not just the defeat of the game, Mathis. I can cope with losing the game, despite the amount of money I just lost." "Then what is it?" "Thousands of lives will have been taken because of my loss, whenever I now close my eyes, I can see the flames, the destruction..." Bond closed his eyes and saw what he had described. "And, although it hasn't happened yet, I can hear the screaming, the women, the children, everyone, dead." Bond opened his eyes and looked up at Mathis "I have just killed thousands of people, funded terrorism for years to come." "Don't despair James, you're dangerous when your emotions get the better of you." "I know, that's what M has tried to teach me. I realise now what she meant by judging the situation 'dispassionately' but I can't help but carry these burdens forever. That's the problem with this job Mathis, it chews you up and leaves you a scarred, horrible mess." "But James, it's not like you walked in and gunned down those people, you didn't kill them directly." "That makes it even worse, it's through my actions that innocent people die, and I can't help but feel the guilt of it." But all was not lost, there was still a way. An idea struck him like a lighting bolt out of the blue and with it came relief and the wonderful sensation that accompanied it, that sensation was one of hope. "There's still hope, I can still win this!" Bond shouted out-loud to Mathis, before jumping of his seat and running through the hallway, he was sure he had caught a glimpse of Vesper standing on a near-by balcony, looking out at the town. Bond turned his head, looking for her, he soon found her. She was standing near the edge of the railing, looking out, the wind causing her dress to ripple hypnotically. Bond walked behind her slowly, as to not startle her, she was accompanied by Mathis's second bodyguard of the night. Presuming she knew he was there, he opened his mouth and spoke. "Do you know what just happened?" Vesper didn't turn around to look at him, she just continued staring at the towns lights and the dark sky. "Yes, I was there when it happened. You were too reckless, you took a very large risk." "Vesper, it was the only way..." "Was it, Mr Bond?" She turned around now, her face looked stern and her voice cold. "Was putting thousands of lives on-the-line over, what, a 40% chance of winning 'the only way'. It may have been the only way for you, Mr Bond, but it was certainly not 'the only way'." "Listen, you said an additional 5 million would be available to me to use in the game should I require it, I need it now." "No. You lost because of your inflated ego and obsession with sacrificing others, you don't care who you kill, along as you reach your objective." "So you think I like having all that blood on my hands? You want to know why I'm 'a cold-hearted bastard'? It's because I'm responsible for all that, all those deaths. You think I don't care? You're right, I used to, but as you soon learn doing this job, not caring is better, because if you don't care, it doesn't hurt. Not caring is what keeps me efficient." Vesper shook her head at him, she looked upset, but angry at the same time "No, it's what keeps you alone." She snapped, marching past him and through the door, Bond called out to her, desperate to not lose her. He was feeling conflicted emotions at the moment, he was feeling angry that Vesper thought he didn't deserve the back-up money, he was feeling defeated now that his last hope of winning was gone, and he was feeling horrible that he had upset Vesper, Bond didn't want to lose her, he didn't love her, but he didn't want even more blood on his hands. It was time to switch to plan C, if Bond couldn't win the money, he would have to get it by force. Bond glanced over at the table, the next break had only just begun, Felix, Le Chiffre and the large American were leaving the table and going their separate ways for an hour or two. Bond watched Le Chiffre as he marched across the hall, towards the back stair-case and the men's toilets. Bond reached into his inside suit pocket and pulled out a small knife, he made sure to conceal it in the cuff of his dinner jacket as to not startle anyone. He was going to follow Le Chiffre into the bathroom, and torture the password out of him, it was time to get the money back. Bond made sure he was always three or more meters away from Le Chiffre, otherwise he ran the risk of being spotted. Bond marched determinately across the large hall, past the poker tables and roulettes. Bond saw a shadow move past his left side and felt a hand hit his shoulder, which stopped him in his tracks. Bond turned to his left to see Felix holding him back from Le Chiffre. Bond politely said "I'm terribly sorry Felix but I'm in quite a hurry right now, could we talk later?" Felix shook his head and leaned closer to Bond "Listen James, I'm bleeding chips, I'm now going to last much longer. You may have lost all your chips, but right now you've got a much better chance of winning than I do." Bond watched as Le Chiffre took a right and disappeared out of sight. "Listen, Felix, I have some... Business with Le Chiffre, I can't talk right now..." "I know, but I've got a better solution than stabbing him." Bond gave up his struggle against Felix's grip and listened to him, intrigued. "What are you saying?" He asked. "I'm saying I'll stake you with what chips I have left, otherwise Le Chiffre will just blow me off that table like an ant. When you get back to the table explain what has happened and take my chips." "How long have I got until the game starts again?" "10 minutes." "Right, well it looks like I'll have to find Vesper and report back to her so she can manage your chips while I play with them, how much is there?" "6 Million." "Okay, that's a decent amount, I'll see what I can do with them." Bond went to walk away from Felix but he was stopped once again. "But James, two more things." "Yes?" "Firstly, the CIA take Le Chiffre in for questioning after the game, not MI6. And secondly, don't screw it up, this is your last chance." That was annoying, the CIA were the ones that already knew about Quantum, why would they want to question Le Chiffre? But Bond didn't really feel like getting into an argument with Americans right now, so he agreed to Felix's conditions. "Okay, he's yours. And I'll do my best. But what about the winnings?" Felix smiled at him "Do we look like we need the money?" Bond smiled back and began to walk away from Felix, back towards the bar. As he walked, he glanced around, looking for Vesper, hopefully she was still willing to listen to him. Bond spotted her talking to Mathis at the bar, he sat next to her and opened his mouth to speak "Vesper, listen, I'm sorry about losing and taking too many risks, you're right, it was my ego and recklessness that lost me the game but I need you to help me win it this time." She turned over to face him, and said, in the same cold tone she had used when last talking to him "And how do you propose to 'win this time' when you don't have the money to buy back into the game?" "My friend from the CIA, Felix Leiter, he just staked me, I now have all his chips and back-up funds." Vesper just looked at him, thinking on what he had said, before eventually replying "Alright, as long as the funds for a lost cause aren't coming out of the Treasury's wallet I'll continue to manage the money." "You don't think I can win this?" "If you do, it'll be from luck, not skill, as you claim." With this, Vesper finished her drink, stood up from the stool, and walked off. Mathis watched her for a second, before turning to Bond "You two had a feud?" Bond smiled at him "Don't worry, she'll come through, I just think she's trying to prove a point here." "And if she isn't?" "Well, then I'm well and truly stuffed." Bond heard the Banker call out to all of the Baccarat player's that the game was starting soon, so he excused himself from Mathis's presence, and walked over to the table once again. Le Chiffre was seated in his usual seat, shuffling his cards, the only other player besides Bond and Le Chiffre was the large American, who still didn't speak, despite seemingly noticing Bond's presence and Felix's absence. The Banker cleared his throat, catching the attention of all the players, and said "Gentlemen, if you are all ready, we may continue the game. The only complication, I see, is Signore Bond's presence and Signore Leiter's absence from the table." Bond reached over the table and took Felix's chips into his own possession, there were quite a few of them, but Bond was then given a ugly reminder of Le Chiffre's available funds. There was a massive pile in front of him, almost triple the size of Bond's own, relatively small pile. Remembering the Banker's inquiry as too the current situation, Bond opened his mouth and said "Mr Leiter has staked me with what chips he possessed at the time, which was 10 minutes ago." Bond passed Felix's cards to the Banker, he took them and replied "Very well, with this agreement between Signore Leiter and Signore Bond, we enter the final stage of the game, let's continue." Bond glanced over at Le Chiffre, he was scowling at Bond, a horrible, twisted look of hatred was present on his large face. His scar glowed red and his eye started weeping once again, Le Chiffre dabbed at it with a handkerchief, keeping one eye open and still on Bond. Bond shuddered, it was a horrible feeling, being watched by those eyes. Bond turned his attention back to his chips, he was being dealt his new set of cards, he took a look at them, he got a 6 and a 2. They weren't anything special, but through bluffing Bond could make something out of them. The game continued for about an hour before Bond decided to make a risky move, the large American had decided to make a bet of 5 million on Le Chiffre's hand, so Bond thought he could out-bet the large American, taking his chips in the process and leaving no-one but Le Chiffre and himself on the table. Bond then remembered what Vesper had said about 'taking risks' was it really worth it? Bond eventually decided against it, the odds were against him and if he lost the bet, he would probably lose most of the chips Felix had given him. Bond simply let the large American bet against Le Chiffre, and when Le Chiffre revealed his cards, the large American was knocked out of the game by a combination of an incorrect bet and Le Chiffre managing to double it. The large American left the table, a look of defeat on his large face. the blood that was his red chips pouring into the centre of the table. Now it was just Le Chiffre and Bond, and they were playing for 7 million pounds worth of chips.

Bond needed a drink, and what he really felt like was a 'Vesper' to ease his doubts of the game and assist his concentration. Bond called a waiter over, and ordered the drink, he watched the waiter bowed himself out of Bond's sight and walked over to the bar to pour the drink. Behind Bond's back Le Chiffre nodded towards Tatyana, who was standing at the bar preparing the glass to give to Bond's waiter. Tatyana wiped the glass done thoroughly, rubbing the rim of the glass extra firmly with her fingers, she then passed the glass to the waiter. When Bond got the drink from the waiter he immediately returned his attention to Le Chiffre and the game. Bond and Le Chiffre had seemingly hit a stalemate, with neither of them making any risky moves, it was like in the final moments of a chess game, when there was just 1 piece left on each team, and each was dodging the other until someone tripped up and got pinned. Bond looked at Le Chiffre, he was frowning at Bond, his eyes showed deep concentration and he was shuffling his cards again. Bond took the drink from the waiter and took a sip, as it washed down his throat it seared and burned, causing him to splutter and choke. Bond looked over at Le Chiffre to see a very slight smile appear on his lips, he watched as the ends curled upwards, but his vision was cut short by a horrible pulse, Bond clutched his chest in shock and pain as it burst with agony, each beat blurring his vision. What was in that drink? Bond excused himself from the table and walked out of the room, into the main hallway. Bond could feel the cold, chilling mists of death swirl around him, cruelly inviting him into their embrace. The whole world blurred in front of him, causing him to stumble and stagger as he walked. It was poison, the martini had been poisoned, presumably by Tatyana. Bond heard shouts sounding like they were addressed to him, he heard the muffled sound of laughter and his own heavy breathing. Bond almost tripped over his own feet as he walked into the next hall, grabbing onto the nearby wall to steady his balance. Using the wall as a guide, Bond felt himself around the hallway, finally exiting it through the grand double doors. He felt the cool, fresh air hit his face, he breathed it in and it helped to sharpen his senses once more. He was heading for the Aston Martin that Mathis had parked in the Casino car park, inside it was a defibrillator and other medical supples, and he could communicate with MI6 there. The only problem with this plan was, Bond didn't know where the car was parked. He searched and searched for it, remembering to take deep breaths often, otherwise his vision would seize up once again, and that was the last thing he needed. Although Bond felt clearer then inside the Casino, he could still feel the poison coarse through his veins, spread through his body. He felt a sharp pain in his right leg, Bond tried to hold himself up, put the poison was too strong, he felt the leg collapse under his body's weight. To stop himself from falling, Bond grabbed onto the bonnet of a nearby car. As he opened his eyes and looked at what he was holding, he saw it, his Aston Martin. Bond's face was screwed up in agony but he found the time and energy to smile a little before he felt another pain in his chest, and he was once again screaming. Bond grasped along the side of the front door, his hands searching for the lock, he eventually found it and opened it, sliding into the driver's seat. Bond once again felt the pain in his chest, it seemed to be located where his heart was, it seared and burned, and every time it happened it got worse. First it was just a slight burn with every beat, but it soon turned into what felt like his chest exploding with unbelievable agony. Bond rolled over, his hands groping the inside of the car, he found one of the things he was looking for, his phone. Through the hazy mist that was now ever-present Bond could see the bright light of the screen shining through the darkness, he fumbled with the phone for a few seconds before finally finding the 'call' button and selecting 'MI6 Medical Support Team'. Bond held he phone to his ear, his blurred vision was still pulsing, seemingly in the same rhythm as his heart beats. Bond could feel the sweat on his brow thicken, his breathing was getting heavier with each new draw, all he could hear from the phone was the dial tone, then "Hello?" Bond heard the sound of a British man's voice. Bond breathed in more fresh air, and found his voice "Bond here, I think I've been poisoned!" The man replied, in an urgent voice "Okay, we better hurry then, first, we need to know both your condition and what is now in your body, take the syringe and blood-pressure pack from the medical compartment of your car and inject yourself with it, afterwards hook up the blood-packs' patch into your phone, we need to monitor your condition." Bond groped for the syringe, although the light was turned on in the car, he could barely see a thing, his vision was very hazy. He grasped the syringe firmly (otherwise it would of slipped out of his hands from the sweat) attached the blood-pack and it's patch onto it, and plunged it deep into a vein on his right arm. The shock of the pain jolted Bond, at least keeping his wandering attention from slipping out of focus. Bond pressed down the syringe and watched as his blood flowed through the wires and into the pressure pack, it inflated like a balloon. After the blood pack was full, Bond withdrew the syringe and applied a cotton bud with one hand as he tied the blood-pack and patched it into the phone with the other. Bond fumbled with the phone for a second, before tapping 'send data' and holding it up to his ear once again. Bond breathed in and out for a few seconds, waiting for a response, eventually he heard the man's voice again "We have the results, it seems some fluid you have drunken in the past 5 minutes has been poisoned with Digitalis, this particular poison is fast-spreading and very deadly, it can cause severe heart failure if not treated correctly." Bond smiled "Well, it looks like I'm going to die then, aren't I?" "Not if you do exactly what I say." "Patch me to Bill Tanner, he needs to know what is going on." "We don't have time!" "Just do it!" Bond heard a few sounds come through the phone's speaker before he heard Tanner's voice. "Bond! Don't bother explaining because he don't have much time and I know the situation already." Bond was rather taken aback by this exclamation, it seemed Tanner came out on his own in emergencies, which was a quality M admired greatly. "Now, Digitalis is a very dangerous poison, luckily for you we have a possible cure." Bond smiled and breathed heavily out "I'm all ears." "Open the medical compartment of your car and look inside it, you will notice a thick syringe contains a dark blue liquid, inject that into your neck." Bond then heard the other man's voice "Are you mad! We have no idea if that will cure Bond's condition, it hasn't been tested!" Tanner replied, in an equally rushed and angry tone "Do you have a better idea! That's all we can do for him, and it could very well work." "No, it's too risky, we can't afford to waste time injecting him with something that could end up doing no good." Bond was getting frustrated, he could feel himself losing his grip on the world, everything was descending into a muffled blur... "If you two gentlemen have finished, I would like to continue living at least until the end of the game..." The other man apologised "Yes, sorry, now inside the medical compartment is a defibrillator, you can use it to keep your heart beating, as right now you're going into cardiac arrest and you need to keep your heart pumping blood until we can get you to a hospital. Take it out, wait for the green bar to fill, and then press the red button." Bond panted heavily, his vision was blurring again, he reached out into the medical department and took out both the defibrillator and the syringe with the possible cure. He heard Tanner's voice, he sounded desperate "Bond, what are you doing? Listen to me, inject that cure into you, it's your only chance!" The other man was also pleading with Bond "Bond, if you want to have proper medical treatment take my advice, use that defibrillator!" Bond decided to take both their pieces of advice, first he took the syringe, and plunged it violently into his neck. The pain caused him to scream once more and breath in and out fast, he could feel the sweat run down his forehead. A cool liquid seemed to ooze out of the syringe, flowing through his body and clearing his head temporarily. Now it was time to keep his heart going. Bond could hear the man's voice "Bond! What have you done? Are you still there? Bond!" Bond breathed in and spoke "I've injected myself with the antidote and now I'm going to try and use this defibrillator." As he spoke he unbuttoned his shirt and attached the patches to his chest, clipping on the wires and beginning to charge the defibrillator, he watched groggily as the bar slowly filled. Bond could feel his grip on the world slipping, he could heard the sounds of Tanner and the Medical staff member going soft, he felt his body slide over from the drivers seat and onto the next seat, his head now lay on the passengers seat and his body on the driver's. Bond grasped the defibrillator, the bar was full, he breathed in and pressed the red button... But nothing happened. Bond pressed it again, still nothing, the defibrillator wasn't doing anything. His emotions were a mix of frustration and carelessness, he could feel his whole body shutting down, bracing for what was to come. In his fury, he mashed the red button, thinking in his rage that if he pressed it multiple times it would work, it didn't. Bond saw, out of the corner of his eye, a wire slip down off the seat his head was lying on. Bond grasped for it, but he was restrained by a horrible pain in his chest, he screamed louder than ever. His whole body felt the pain, it echoed and ricocheted between his bones, distributing the pain between his legs, arms, head and body. Bond's heart had failed, the pain had consumed it. Before he died, he saw a shadow move past him, heard several voices, two men's, and a woman's. He then felt a cold hand touch his chest, surely this was death, and he was detaching the strings of life from him... Then, with a jolt and a scream, Bond felt his whole body switch back on, he sat up in surprise and celebration, and saw the face of Vesper close to his own. He could hear the voices of Tanner and the medical staff member coming out from the phone, which had fallen out of Bond's grip when he he had entered cardiac arrest. Bond panted for a while, catching his breath and getting his bearings, he looked at Vesper and asked her "Did you save me?" She smiled at him as he slipped out of the car and onto the road, he wobbled for a few seconds before regaining his balance using the roof of the car. "Always the tone of surprise." She retorted, he smiled back at her while buttoning up his shirt and wiping the sweat of his brow. She slipped out of the car and said "Now, we need to get you to a hospital..." Bond straightened his bow tie and replied "Not yet, there are some matter's I want to clear up first." The smile vanished from her face "You're not seriously going back there are you?" He looked into her eyes, still smiling and said "I wouldn't dream of it."

Chapter 12: The Final Hour

Bond walked towards the Casino, he still felt quite strange, but the combination of the defibrillator and the cure seemed to of cleared the poison out of his body. "We need to get you proper medical treatment! You've just been poisoned with god-knows-what." Vesper pleaded to Bond's back. Bond stopped and turned around to face her "How did you find me?" "I saw you drink the Martini, then the next thing I knew you were staggering around the hall, clutching your heart. I guess you had been poisoned, so I followed you out here, the next thing I see is you passed out in the car next to a defibrillator and a detached wire, I clipped the wire back onto the patch and pressed the red button." Bond smiled at her and said "Thank-you, I'd be dead without you." She smiled back and replied "So, it seems I'm not only good at looking beautiful and managing money after-all. Now, about that hospital..." Bond cut her words short "Listen, I haven't been poisoned with Digitalis before but it is a plant, the poison is, more specifically, the juice from the plant. There is no-doubt still some in my system right now but it should be exterminated by my anti-bodies soon, there is no need for a hospital, I've got it all under control now." Vesper went to open her mouth again but Bond cut her off yet again "And that's the end of it." Vesper closed her mouth and decided to give up, he was too stubborn, too reckless, his ego was once again taking over... "So have you forgiven me or are you still mad?" Vesper contemplated this for a moment before replying "No, I don't think so, but that's for you to decide... Good-evening Mr Bond, I'll see you inside." With this she walked past him and across the car-park, back into the Casino. Bond watched her for a few moments before returning his attention to the phone lying on the driver's seat of the car, the loud voices of Tanner and the medical staff member were still blaring out of it, Bond decided to silence them. He walked back over to the car and picked up the phone, speaking into it "Bond here, with assistance I have managed to exit the state of Cardiac Arrest and my body is returning to it's natural state, I repeat, my body is recovering and the poison has ceased it's assault." There was a period of a few seconds where neither Tanner nor the medical staff member talked, before Tanner opened his mouth "That's good, 007, I will inform M of the situation and outcome immediately." Bond heard a shuffle of feet before the medical staff member spoke "So whose solution worked?" "I don't know, I used both..." "But if you had to pick..." "I don't know!" Bond raised his voice. "Okay, okay! Now, you should get to a hospital, we need to monitor the poison's hopefully successful retreat from your body." Bond replied "Fine, I will, right after I finish the game." With that, he hung up and pocketed the phone, before walking across the car-park and back into the Casino.

When Bond returned he sat down at the table and immediately looked at Le Chiffre, it took a lot of self-control for Bond not to laugh at the look on his face when he saw Bond. It was mixture of shock and anger, his fists were clenched and his knuckles white, his scarred eye was even weeping. Bond smirked and drew his gaze over to the Banker, who had just said "Signore Bond? Are you alright? You look awful..." "I'm terribly sorry about suddenly leaving without an explanation like that, but it was urgent..." The Banker inquired "What was urgent?" "You see, that last hand nearly killed me..." Bond looked back over the table at Le Chiffre, who glared over at Bond before opening his mouth and saying, in a horribly raspy voice "Shall we continue then, Mr Bond?" Still smiling, Bond politely replied "Certainly." And the Banker gave them there next set of cards. Bond took a look at his new duo of cards, they were a 5 and a 4, a perfect 9. Bond tried his hardest not to show any emotion, he simply looked up at his cards towards Le Chiffre, who was doing the same. It was Bond's turn first and he decided to bluff his way into tricking Le Chiffre, it would be hard, but he had nothing to lose through doing it. Bond frowned at his cards and looked into Le Chiffre's face, he still looked livid, like there was a great amount of anger boiling and bubbling underneath the large mask that was his face, the blood weeping from his scarred eye was the steam that the anger let off. Bond didn't want to offer up his turn to the Banker, as he didn't trust him with the small amount of money he had to conserve, instead Bond placed a small bet of 50 thousand pounds on Le Chiffre's cards, that way, even if Le Chiffre tripled it, Bond wouldn't be losing too much. Le Chiffre read Bond's face like an open book, the only problem was, he read it incorrectly. He opened his mouth and spoke, in a much more clearer voice then before "10 Million on Mr Bond's cards, he has a 3 and a queen" the Banker pushed Le Chiffre's chips into Bond's section of the table, and nodded at him. Bond smiled and looked back up at Le Chiffre, who had seemingly read Bond's smile and now knew he had made the wrong decision, but there was no turning back in Baccarat. Bond placed both his cards on the table, when Le Chiffre saw the perfect 9 his face twisted and contorted in rage. He rose from the table, smashing his hands against it's surface and said, in that raspy voice again "I'll return, just give me a moment." He stormed out of the room and marched across the hall, followed by both of his remaining bodyguards. Bond relaxed back in his chair, he had nearly beaten Le Chiffre, one more wrong move and Bond would win. Bond glanced around him, in his concentration he had failed to notice quite a large crowd gathering around them, word had obviously spread around the Casino that the big game was drawing to a close, and many had come to watch the grand finale. Bond scanned the crowd for Vesper and Mathis, he couldn't find them, so he rose from his chair and made his way through the crowd, taking advantage of the time given by Le Chiffre's absence to discuss the recent developments in the game. When Bond finally got some more breathing room, he soon found Mathis, Vesper and two of Mathis's bodyguards sitting at a nearby table, Bond walked over to them and sat down on the spare seat, besides Vesper. He faced Mathis and spoke "I assume Vesper has told you everything that happened?" Mathis smiled at him and replied "Yes, yes I do hope you didn't need that hospital." Bond dismissed him with a wave of his hand "No, I'm fine, I've been poisoned by plant juices before, my immune system is accustomed to it by now, I should fully recover fairly quickly, the poison is out of my heart so I shouldn't have any major problems from now on." Vesper asked him "Where is Le Chiffre? And why are you here?" "He just lost quite a bit of money betting on my cards incorrectly, I don't know where he's gone off to now." Bond noticed Vesper had a notebook out and was writing quickly in it in small, loopy writing, she didn't look up from from it (she was obviously concentrating on some calculations involving money) but instead simply asked "How much does he have left?" "I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's still at least 7 million pounds or so, I just hope he doesn't learn his lesson and play smart from now on, I'm enjoying this 'tell' he's made." Vesper glanced up from her notebook, her face looked confused "Tell?" She asked inquisitively. Bond and Mathis both smiled at her simultaneously and Bond explained the term to her. "In both poker and baccarat, a 'tell' is a quick and unexpected change in a certain player's behaviour. It's commonly a tactic employed if that player is in danger of losing, usually close to the game. To make sure the other player bluffs incorrectly the player changes their behaviour to hide their true motives, rather like the opposite of a bluff, it's a self-defence tactic." Vesper leaned closer to him and asked "So you think Le Chiffre is changing his behaviour and using a 'tell' to trick you into lowering your defence?" "Possibly." Bond broke his eye contact with Vesper to glance around his shoulder, Le Chiffre himself was storming across the hall, pushing his way past the crowd and yelling angrily at Tatyana (who was following him) in Italian. He dug a long trench through the final wave of people to get back to the table, Bond thought it would be unwise to keep him waiting, so he excused himself from Mathis and Vesper's presence. He pushed himself gently through the crowd, eventually coming out in the room with the table and sitting down at his seat. Le Chiffre was taking several breaths through his inhaler at regular intervals, and his scarred eye was bleeding again. His good eye was bloodshot and his hair was messy, his hands were clammy and his face was as white as a sheet. Bond smiled to himself while shuffling his new set of cards, he turned the, up and glanced at them, he had a 7 and an ace, if he could bluff his way through Le Chiffre's almost certain bet on his cards, and use the tell to his advantage. He could wipe Le Chiffre out, and put an end to this game. Bond looked past his cards at his watch, it was nearly 2:00 AM in the morning, they had been playing for hours upon hours by now. Bond finished shuffling his cards and placed them all face down in front of him on the table. He nodded at the Banker, and the game resumed. Le Chiffre straightened his bow tie and dabbed his eye with a fresh handkerchief. Bond let him finish before opening his mouth "You seem to be under a lot of pressure, my friend. I do hope our little game isn't causing you to despair." Le Chiffre glared at him and took his cards out of the Banker's hands, beside the neat piles of multi-coloured chips he placed them all face down, giving each one a slap before placing it, it was as if he was laying down several brutal weapons, showing his guests what they had came for. Bond organised his own pile of chips and placed them off to the side, he had a feeling he wouldn't need them. It was Le Chiffre's turn first, he flicked one of his cards into the middle of the table, before allowing the Banker to turn it around using the pallet, it was a 4, just a 4. Le Chiffre had wisely chosen to give something of little worth just to give himself more time, he obviously had an ace up his sleeve, perhaps literally. The Banker took the card and Bond went to do the same, but he was stopped by the horrible, raspy laughter of Le Chiffre. Bond glanced up from his cards to look at him, he was smiling, his deformed eye looking into Bond's face, and his other eye looking elsewhere, it was a truly distracting and shudder-inducing glare, but for Le Chiffre, it was a blessing. Bond could hear the buzz of the crowd slightly through the thick bubble that was his concentration, the whole world seemed to blur, nothing and no-one else mattered right now except for the game, except, perhaps Vesper. Bond knew what Le Chiffre wanted him to do, he didn't want to give in, but he had no choice, if he left it another turn Le Chiffre would wipe him out completely, presumably with an Ace or perhaps a perfect 9. Bond decided to take a chance, he didn't like doing it, but that was gambling, and he had no real choice. Bond opened his mouth and said, reluctantly, "All-in." As he spoke he moved the piles of chips towards the centre of the battlefield, they were like catapults, siege machines, the pillars that made Bond's fortress of mental defences stand up on their own two legs, and they were now in the centre of the conflict. Le Chiffre didn't smile, he hadn't won the game yet. He too opened his mouth when his turn came and said "All-in." Everything was now at stake, everyone at risk. Le Chiffre used the remainder of his turn to take back two piles of chips, betting 8 million on Bond's cards, they were a 2 and a 3, they had to be, no amount of bluffing could change that. Le Chiffre had calculated the odds, they were 50/50 but now the odds had improved in Le Chiffre's favour, Bond could win, but Le Chiffre wasn't going to go down without a fight. Bond knew, from Le Chiffre's previous plan before Bond went all-in, that Le Chiffre had a perfect 9, now all he needed to do was state that fact. He opened his mouth and said the words, the magic words, the words that would decide thousands of lives and end the conflict "All-in on Le Chiffre's cards, a perfect 9." Le Chiffre gaped at Bond, how had he known? It seemed it was not over yet, this battle would be dragged out still further. Mathis and Vesper watched through from the front of the crowd, Bond hadn't won yet, but he had struck a large and damaging blow to Le Chiffre's funds. Le Chiffre stopped gaping and started to fume, how could he have lost this much in one round? That was nearly all of his chips! How could he have been so stupid?! Bond watched amusingly as the enraged Le Chiffre threw the chips across the table at Bond. Bond watched him for a few more moments before opening his mouth to strike the final blow "Wait, I have an Ace, Le Chiffre actually owes me 13 Million." Bond flicked his final card into his hand and showed Le Chiffre and the Banker. Bond smiled at Le Chiffre as his face got redder and redder. His fists were clenched, their knuckles white and his mouth was wide open. His scarred eye was bleeding horribly and there was a vein in his forehead that was throbbing violently. He screamed in the horrible raspy voice that emerged when he was angry and threw the rest to the chips at Bond, rising from the table and storming out of the room, swearing under his breath as he did so. Bond watched as his bodyguards followed him and turned to the Banker. The Banker hadn't officially ended the game as Bond was now the only person at the table. Instead, he accepted the tip Bond gave him and gave Bond the code to retrieve the chips he had won, in addition to the money MI6 would be receiving, which was to be a separate transaction by Mr Mendel. Bond bid farewell to the Banker and rose from the table, making his way through the crowd to Vesper and Mathis, who had gone back to the table just after Bond had revealed the Ace. The crowd had begun to shift it's way from the room and back to the other sections of the Casino so Bond didn't have to push past a strong barrier of human beings, luckily. He sat down besides Vesper at the table and looked over at Mathis smiling, he smiled back. It was only now that the feeling of victory had settled it, it was one of the best feelings a gambler could experience, and this victory in particular felt very satisfying indeed, Bond had fought his way through the opposition, with some assistance of course, but he had finally managed to defeat Le Chiffre, it was over, it was finally over, Bond had one the game. He turned around to face Vesper who, for some reason, wasn't smiling. She turned around to face him, her eyes were cold and her face expressionless, her bright blue eyes examining his face. "You better stop smiling Mr Bond, it's not over yet, don't let that ego get the better of you." Bond was rather taken aback by this comment, Bond thought she would be happy it was all over, that he had won, he sighed quietly, she was clearly still angry with him for betting too high and losing all the money before. "You think you won because of skill, it was luck, and luck not offered nor given by me." Bond dropped the smile, she was serious "Perhaps, but I am very good at reading people." "Go on then, prove you weren't just throwing down cards and chips recklessly, keeping your fingers crossed and your ego in full swing, fuelled as it is now by victory." He looked at her, as he had looked at Le Chiffre, examining her composure and facial expressions, before replying "You're thinking 'I'm very happy that James won and used his last few chips wisely, I would like to celebrate with him at a large and expensive restaurant with some of his extra winnings.'" Vesper smiled at him for the first time since the poisoning, her eyes looking deep into his, "Alright, you really did deserve to win." After finishing that sentence she stood up, he did the same. Bond raised his right arm, Vesper took it and looked up at him, "Now, shall we go to that restaurant then?" Bond replied "Certainty, I'm famished." Together they walked out of the Casino, leaving Mathis and his bodyguards together at the table.

Chapter 13: A Turn of Events

"I'll have the Bélurode Caviar, with no vegetables or sauces, thank-you." Vesper then handed her menu to the waitress. The waitress then turned to Bond to take his order, he didn't look up from the menu, I stead reading out his order directly from it. "I too will join Miss Lynd with the Caviar, although I would like it with a Berqûalanse sauce and a side of lettuce and other assorted greens." The waitress scribbled down Bond's order on a piece of paper, and asked if they would like any secondary meals. Bond ordered an entree of fine Garlic Bread and no dessert, although Vesper told the waitress she may have something. Bond sat opposite to Vesper and the table, as he waited for the entree to be served, he looked around the restaurant, it was lavishly furnished in an Italian Renaissance style with velvet seats and golden silk curtains covering the windows. Several candles lit up the space, casting bright golden light across the room, which shimmered from the large chandelier just above them. It was quite romantic, and very expensive looking. Bond drew his gaze back to Vesper, she was looking a him with a slight smile on her face, her face was no longer stern and for the first time that night she looked quite relaxed. Bond was able to afford the restaurant and their meals easily without funding from the secret service due to the extra winnings he had redeemed on his way out of the Casino, the dinner was on him. A few moments later a waiter dressed in a pure white outfit (complete with gold trimming) served the garlic bread and accepted their orders for the wine. He returned a few minutes later carrying two bottles of red champagne and several glasses, he wished them a good meal and left to serve the other patrons. Vesper smiled at Bond as he poured the wines into their glasses, they put their glasses together before both taking a sip of the wine. Bond then started on the garlic bread, as he ate he began the conversation with Vesper, "That's an Algerian Love-Knot." He gestured towards her neck, where a complex silver necklace was hanging, it was the first time Bond had noticed it. She looked down, holding it to the light "Really? I thought it was just something pretty..." Bond could tell she was lying "No you didn't, someone gave that to you." "And how would you know, Mr Bond?" "I'm good at reading people, remember." She didn't reply, just looked into his eyes and smiled at him, leaning on the table that separated him as she did it. "Okay, I was lying..." "He's a very lucky man, tell him that if you see him again soon." Bond drank some more of the champagne, turning the topic of the conversation of the love-knot and onto the wine instead "It's nice, I can taste all sorts of exotic fruit in it, but it doesn't beat a Vesper..." "Did you mean it?" "Mean what?" "When you said you named it after me because that's now 'all you want to drink'?" Bond put down the glass and looked at her, she looked back, their gazes were both interrupted by a waiter, who arrived to serve their meals. They both ate in silence for a whole, both enjoying their meals individually, until Bond started the conversation once again. "I suppose you would like to know how exactly I won?" "Certainty, although don't get too excited." "Why not?" "Because if you engage in an even-light spot of self-complement, your head will be too big to fit out of that door." She nodded towards the main door behind her. Bond smiled at her and they both laughed under their breath for a few seconds, before Bond got into the details of his victory. "If you remember Le Chiffre's 'tell' I told you about, I managed to exploit it into tricking him into placing a high bet, I knew he would because I knew he had a powerful card he could use if required, I revealed the Ace I had and that's how I beat him." Vesper watched him talking enthusiastically and animatedly, waving his hands all over the place whenever he placed his cutlery back on the plate. Vesper swallowed the last piece of Caviar on her plate before placing the cutlery on it and pushing it towards Bond, indicating she had finished. Bond moped up the last of the sauce with his Caviar, before pouring another glass of champagne for Vesper and himself. Vesper went to drink from the glass, but she was interrupted by her phone, which was placed on the table beside her. It beeped loudly, indicating she had received a message. Bond watched as she placed the glass back down on the table, and picked up the flashing phone, she pressed a few buttons and read the message. After a few seconds, she looked up at Bond's inquisitive face, answering his non-verbal question, she said "It's Mathis, he says he needs to see me in the foyer of the hotel, he wants to know how your funds during the game went and what will become of them, of course I would know better then anyone, I suppose." Bond looked slightly confused "Why wouldn't he come down here instead of making you walk?" "Perhaps he's not dressed in formal clothes or something, and I don't mind anyway." With this she rose from the table and grabbed her handbag and phone from beside her. Bond also stood up "I'll get the bill, I can easily afford it at the moment, I have the cash on me." Vesper pushed in her chair and apologised to Bond "I feel I have not been very good company tonight, James, I am sorry." Bond glanced up from pushing his chair in to look at her "Don't worry, you've been quite alright." She smiled at him one last time before turning her back to him and walking out of the restaurant. Bond turned to a passing waitress and asked her if he could give the bill to her, she told him he could and he proceeded to start writing the bill out on a spare piece of paper. As he made the calculations he suddenly realised how... Strange Mathis's message was. For one, Mathis wouldn't care what clothes he was wearing, he would of come down and seen them both, they would have laughed and celebrated together, with Mathis the heart of the group. Then Bond's training kicked in, it wasn't Mathis at all, it was a forgery, a trap, and Bond had fallen for it. Bond instinctively didn't finish writing out the bill, he just dropped the pen and sprinted out of the restaurant, leaving the waitress to call out to him in loud Italian. Bond burst out of the door and onto the street, he ran down the sidewalk and into a small, narrow back-alley. As he ran, he wondered why they would want to trick and kidnap Vesper, did they think she had the password to Bond's account where the main winning's were located? Or was this all an elaborate trap, was Vesper the bait? Did they think Bond would play the hero and rush to save her? Well, they got that right, if she got captured, it would endanger the mission. Bond was saving her for the sake of the mission, and that was all. As Bond ran across the dark town square, he looked up at the hotel, had Vesper reached it yet? He ducked into an alley-way and sprinted down it, before taking a right turn, then a left, then another right... Eventually he came out at the hotel car-park, but where was Vesper? Bond frantically turned his head, squinting in the darkness that was only broken by occasional bursts of light coming from the inside of the building at the street lamps. This was no good, Bond could find her no matter how thoroughly he looked, so he decided to call out to her, perhaps she was in the area, and could hear him. "VESPER!" He shouted, he heard it echo all around him. "VESPER!" He repeated, just as loudly as before. This time, he was in luck, following his second shout he heard a woman's scream and turned his neck, following the noise, just outside the hotel foyer two men were carrying someone who appeared to be Vesper into a dark, long car, she was putting up quite a fight, kicking, struggling and screaming. Bond wasted no time, he started to sprint across the car-park and towards the commotion, the two men turned their necks to see the approaching figure, Bond saw their faces, they were Le Chiffre's two remaining bodyguards. Seeing Bond run at full speed towards them, they quickly pushed Vesper into the backseat of the car and started driving away. Bond sprinted after them, the car was pulling out of the car-park, if he could reach it before it started to gather speed and jump onto the roof... But the car was too fast, the driver stepped on the accelerator and the car roared to life, moving fast out of the car-park and along the street, there was no way Bond could catch them now, unless... Bond turned his head around, once again visually searching, this time it was for his car. Mathis (the real Mathis) had mentioned something about parking Bond's Aston Martin outside of the hotel for 'easy access' now all Bond needed to do was find it... Bond searched and searched for the Aston Martin, every second Le Chiffre and Vesper were further away from Bond, and every second Vesper was in more danger. It was a trap, they didn't want Vesper, so hopefully they wouldn't attempt to torture her for information until he caught up him them, and then he'd be able to save her and call in back-up. Bond kept searching for the car, he couldn't find it, where the hell had Mathis parked it? After almost a minute of searching, Bond caught the glint of a silver paint-job out of the corner of his eye, he turned to his right, following the glint, to see the Aston Martin parked beside a street lamp, on the outskirts of the car-park. Bond smiled, just like when he was poisoned, he was very happy to see the car again. He wasted no time, sprinting across the car-park, vaulting over railings and trampling flower-beds. He ran to the side of the car, unlocked the drivers' door, and slipped in. He turned the key, closed the door, de-activated the hand-brake, and stepped on the accelerator. The car roared to life and within seconds, Bond was exiting the town with remarkable speed. Before long, Bond was speeding along the road beside the large lake that surrounded Royale, if that car was as slow as it looked, it wouldn't be long before Bond would find it somewhere along the road. And if he didn't, he knew where they were headed, Le Chiffre's villa was somewhere along the road, and Bond had already calculated the best point of entry and security measures connected to it, it would be a problem if they hid out there, Bond would find them. Bond thought about Vesper, he really hoped they wouldn't torture her, she didn't know the password, but that was the problem, if she said she didn't know the password, they would presume she was lying and keep torturing her until she died of some horrible course. But if she didn't have any information that could potentially compromise the mission, why was Bond saving her? Why was he risking everything to get her back? She was no danger to the money, so why should he care? Bond had half a mind to do a u-turn and go back to the town, to enter the hotel and tell Mathis what had happened, it was a shame she had to die, Bond liked her, but this wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and Bond already knew his conscience could live with such a thing. But Bond couldn't help it, his compassion was a weakness, but erasing it entirely as he had tried to do in the past wouldn't change what would happen, M may not approve of it, but Bond was going to save Vesper, and kill Le Chiffre, it was the right thing to do. This motivation further drew Bond to find her, so he stepped on the accelerator and allowed the car to vibrate violently as it screamed in protest before speeding faster still down the dark road. This was strange, Bond should've found them by now, he could see quite a long way ahead of him, why couldn't he see the lights of Le Chiffre's car? They weren't that far ahead of him, and this car was much faster then there's, he should of caught up to them by now... The bright white markings on the road were the only source of illumination through the darkness of the night, they guided the Aston Martin through the winding road. Bond drove at over 120 kilometres an hour for a few more minutes before he finally saw another source of light on the seemingly endless road, it seemed to be coming from a moderately sized villa, could this be Le Chiffre's villa? Bond further stepped on the car's accelerator, the vehicle was moving faster with every second, Bond drew himself further to the windscreen, squinting in the darkness, trying to make out the shapes of the villa and the hills surrounding it, the tall pines beside the bundling were casting dark shadows, dulling the otherwise bright light coming from inside the villa. Bond returned his attention to the road, the reflective markings were glowing brightly from the car bonnets lights, Bond watched as each one came and went, causing Bond to squint in the brightness briefly. Bond's hand were sore from the amount of time he had spent gripping the steering wheel of the car tightly, his palms were sweaty, causing his hands to slip from the positions on the wheel occasionally. FLASH! The bright light from one of the reflective markings blinded Bond momentarily. FLASH! Another came and went. FLASH! The next one was brighter still. The next one after that was a strange shape, it looked like a chalk marking at a crime scene, it was in the shape of a woman, a woman was lying on the road, and that woman was Vesper. She was tied up and struggling to move away from the car, but it was too late, if Bond hadn't seen her, she would be dead as her struggling form was still directly in the front of the car. Thank goodness Bond had seen, for he instinctively swerved violently at top speed when he saw her pale form lying on the road. The fast and violent swerve, combined with the damp road, caused Bond to lose control of the car as it rolled off the road. Bond simply sat in the drivers seat, bracing himself, as the car tumbled around, he was helpless to stop it. CRASH! BANG! Bond heard the noises of metal being torn apart brutally and glass shattering. He felt pieces of metal and windscreen alike rain down upon his huddled form, he couldn't see a thing, his hands were covering his face, he felt himself get thrown around the inside of the car like a feather in a hurricane, felt gravity kick in and smash him in the stomach and head, felt the roof cave in and the windows smash into his face, causing pieces of glass to embed themselves into his cheeks and forehead. The car rolled a full 8 times before eventually stopping upside down, just beside the lake. Bond lay on what was left of the roof of the car for a few seconds before attempting to pull himself out. He could hear the sound of water lightly rippling in the breeze, could feel the coolness on his face, he opened his eyes to see away cloud of black, interrupted by a dull jet of light and breeze flowing out of a large hole in the window and passenger's door, it was just large enough to fit Bond through. With a bit of physical effort, Bond managed to crawl out of the wreckage. Laying on the river bank, he turned his head around to see the upside-down car, it had tumbled down the hill 8 times before landing beside the lake, and it was completely ruined. Smoke was poring out of the destroyed bonnet, windows were smashed, bits of twisted metal were lying everywhere and the whole car was brutally bent in the middle, the bend closed off the upper and lower sections of the vehicle. Bond felt the cool water from the lake splash against his face for a few more seconds, before opening his eyes once again, he heard voices shouting, and saw shadows move past him. He felt a rough hand grab him on the shoulder and turn him over, he looked up to see the silhouette of a tall and skinny man against the dark knight sky. From the light of the moon Bond could make out a grey beard and greasy mop of hair, Bond though he looked like he was from somewhere in Northern Russia, he was one of Le Chiffre's two bodyguards. He placed his right ear on Bond chest and checked Bond was still breathing and his pulse, he didn't check Bond injuries, as they were too numerous to properly cover in one sweep. Bond had a dull headache, several severe cuts and bruises all over his body, pieces of assorted shrapnel stuck in his skin, and his clothing was in tatters and covered with blood. Bond heard a deep, gurgle of a voice loudly call out "Le Chiffre! Le Chiffre! He's alive and not to badly injured! Come quick, he's just by the river bank beside the wreckage of the car!" Bond heard a shuffle of feet and another rough pair of hands grab him, Bond felt someone's face close to his own, when he opened his eyes next he saw the large face of Le Chiffre just above his own, a stream of blood was gushing out his scarred eye, seemingly in excitement, it was flowing down his nose and onto his chin. His mop of black hair had come out of it's slick comb-over and has draped over his face, he was smiling a horrible smile. Le Chiffre laughed under-his-breath for a few seconds, Bond found his breath, before asking him "What's so funny?" In a meek croak. Le Chiffre pushed his face still closer to Bonds' and replied "I'm afraid your friend Mathis is actually, my friend Mathis."

Chapter 14: Torture

Bond couldn't believe it, how could Mathis have betrayed them? Mathis, his friend, someone he had known for years, someone he trusted, someone who had saved his life numerous times. This just proved one of M's theory's, trust and emotional attachment was dangerous, she was right, look where his trust and friendship with Mathis had got him... But how exactly was Mathis involved? Perhaps he had been captured previously and tortured or blackmailed into betraying Bond and Vesper, or perhaps he was just well and truly crooked and involved with Quantum. No matter what he had done, no matter why he did it, Bond didn't care, he hated Mathis now more then he had ever hated anyone in his whole life, the filthy traitor had led Bond to his, and possibly Vesper's, brutal and painful deaths. Le Chiffre withdrew his glare from Bond and stood back up, he turned to the right and signalled the two bodyguards. Bond felt 3 pairs of hands grab him by the shoulders, chest and legs and together the three of them dragged him away from the car's wreckage. Bond didn't make any effort to resist, he had given up, he had allowed his compassion to take over and it had stabbed him in the back and caused his car to flip over, and him to be captured and probably tortured. M was right, cold and calculating, ruthless and brutal, that was what Bond always needed to be, and this was the reason why. Bond felt himself be dragged across first the dirt and stones of the lake bank and then the damp grass which surrounded the road. Eventually they reached Le Chiffre's car, which was parked in the shadows underneath the canopy of the pine trees which surrounded the road. The thin bodyguard opened the door to the back seat and the one with the cane pushed Bond into it, before closing the door behind him. Bond looked up from his huddled position on the floor to see Vesper looking down at him, she was tied up with a strong-looking, heavy duty rope around her waist and arms, just like she had been when Le Chiffre had thrown her on the road to flip Bond over. Thankfully, neither Le Chiffre or the bodyguards or his bodyguards had physically harmed her, she had some dirt on the right side of her body, but for the most part she just looked frightened and shaken, much like she had after the fight in the stair-well. Bond felt sorry for Vesper, all this must be emotionally affecting for her, she was just an accountant, an officer from the treasury, she didn't sign up for this, she wasn't used to it. Bond felt the car's engine roar to life through the seat his head was pressed against, as the car pulled out of the trees and back onto the road Bond felt himself losing consciousness, he had lost help, his car was ruined, Mathis, one of his oldest friends in the service, had betrayed him and poor Vesper was on her way to be horribly tortured and possibly killed, there was no hope left, no-one could come to their aid, all hope was lost...

Bond could hear highly muffled voices all around him, there were a few deep ones, they all seemed to be speaking in Italian, however, Bond was fully awoken from his slumber by the scream of a woman, followed by more angry Italian voices, the smash of a heavy metal door and the 'click' of a heavy-duty lock. Bond opened his eyes and saw a blurred and pulsing version of the world, eventually everything sharpened, and his surroundings came into focus. Bond pushed himself up through his elbows and looked around, he was in a dark, dank and dirty room with no windows. Everything was a combination of metal and rivets, the roof was metal, the walls were metal, and the floor was metal. It was all rusting and decaying, causing splashes of red and dark orange to mix in among the inky black shadows caused by the poor lighting. There were several large, metal doors which contained equally large locks, the only furniture in the room were two cane chairs and a wooden table. One cane chair was placed beside the table, the second was directly in the centre of the room, still close to the table. Placed on the table was a teapot and one cup, steam was pouring out of the teapots open lid, the liquid inside it was obviously boiling hot. Bond could see shadows moving all around him, he could hear more angry-sounding Italian male voices and another female scream, it sounded close-by. Bond heard the 'click' of a lock once again and the heavy groan of a large, metal door opening. He followed the sound with his eyes to see the door on the far right side of the room open, even more shadow spilled into the already dark room. Out of the shadows stepped Le Chiffre, he looked down at Bond's hunched over form and smiled a horrible, cold smile. He stepped out of the doorway and into the room, followed closely behind by the cane-wielding bodyguard. He walked around the table and chairs and over to Bond's dark corner "I see you're awake." He sneered. Bond's throat was dry, how long had he been out cold? He managed to produce enough saliva to string together words, his throat felt very sore, it must of been bruised in the car crash like the rest of his body. "Wh-were am I?" He gasped, looking up a Le Chiffre's tall, oppressive figure. "In my villa, of course, the basement, to be more precise. You've been out cold for about 20 minutes, in that time we started our... Conversation with Miss Lynd." As soon as Le Chiffre finished his sentence Bond lunged forward quickly and violently towards him, Bond reached his hands out towards Le Chiffre neck... However, Le Chiffre's bodyguard was too quick for Bond, he stepped forward and smashed the cane brutally against Bonds' knuckles, causing Bond to retract his fingers in pain. The bodyguard then smashed Bond similarly in the hip, causing him to fall down onto the rusty floor. As Bond lay on the ground, the bodyguard continued his assault with the cane, hitting Bond repeatedly in places all over his body, a couple of blows struck directly on one of Bond's many cuts and bruises, causing the wound to open up and blood to pour onto the floor, Bond screamed in agony as the cane once more collided with his body. Le Chiffre watched the bodyguard pummel Bond relentlessly for a few more seconds, before raising his hand and yelling "ENOUGH! We don't want Mr Bond to bleed to death or lose consciousness again before the real show begins do we?" The bodyguard nodded to Le Chiffre and withdrew from Bond's crippled form, stepping back into the shadows. Le Chiffre knelt beside Bond and began talking quietly with him again "I see you have... Feelings for Miss Lynd." Bond picked himself up slightly from the floor and looked Le Chiffre directly in the eye, "You leave her out of this..." He snarled. "But she could be of great use to us when it comes to certain pieces of information." "No, she won't, she doesn't know anything, I promise you, you leave her out of this." "Or what?" Le Chiffre retorted, "You're at my mercy, Mr Bond, you may be able to take a hard beating or withstand even the most painful and sadistic torture methods, but you can't do anything, not now..." Bond looked Le Chiffre directly in the eye and replied "You don't know that, I'm not at your mercy into I succumb to the pain of the torture and give you the information you want, you haven't beaten me yet, and as soon as I get out of here I'll make it my personal goal to hunt you down and kill you, if your employers don't get to you first..." Le Chiffre stood back up and replied "Let's save this for later, Mr Bond, I don't see the reason to make any threats just yet. You might be right, you might still live, your little girlfriend that Manuel is having fun with over in next room right now might live..." As if on cue, Bond heard more of Vesper's screams coming from elsewhere in the villa, it sounded horrible to Bond, it was the last thing he wanted to hear right now. Le Chiffre walked away from Bonds' form once again and signalled to the bodyguard, he walked over to Bond and pointed the cane at his face. Bond looked down the spine of the cane at the mans' own face, he smiled cruelly and applied pressure to the cane's oddly misshapen handle, the cane clicked, like a gun. Bond finally understood why the cane was so heavy, why is was so horribly misshapen, it was actually not a cane, but a shotgun in disguise. Bond doubted the bodyguard would shoot Bond directly through the skull before Le Chiffre had the password to the decoder, but the man didn't look very smart. Bond took a chance and tilted his head slightly to look at what Le Chiffre was doing, he had a foldable, small and easily concealed Italian switchblade in his hand and we was bent over the cane chair, which sat in the middle of the room. Judging by the sounds the chair was making and whee he was positioned, it appeared he was cutting out the base of the chair. Le Chiffre took out the detached base of the chair and threw it into a corner, confirming Bond's hunch. He then turned back to Bond and said "Take of your clothes." At first Bond was very confused, but then he remembered that a lot of the most brutal torture methods involved the recipient being nude, especially if it was aimed at the... Sensitive parts of a man. Bond stood up and began taking of his blood-stained and ripped dinner jacket, he took what was left of it in his right hand and through it across the room, he did the same with his other pieces of clothing, until he was completely naked. He looked over at Le Chiffre, who gestured for him to sit in the base-less cane chair. Bond hesitated for a moment, before beginning to limp his way across the room, his right leg appeared to be broken. He sat down on the chair compliantly, and watched as the bodyguard wrapped him across the chest and arms in a triple braided rope similar to the one Vesper was tied up with when Le Chiffre threw her onto the road. The bodyguard tied a large and complex knot to finish it off and stood back into the shadows once more. Le Chiffre sat down in the other cane chair beside the table and looked at Bond's face, Bond looked back, it was just like being in a game of Baccarat, only the consequence for failure this time was a painful, torturous death. Le Chiffre opened his mouth and said "Before I begin I'm going to give a chance to not experience this pain, so I will ask politely, what is the password?" Bond didn't reply, he just looked back at Le Chiffre, his eyes shone through the darkness of the room, they were frosty, and almost made Le Chiffre shiver. Le Chiffre gave Bond a minute or two, before replying "Okay, okay, I gave you a chance, a chance to walk out of here with the lovely Miss Lynd by your side and only some minor injuries, and you didn't take it, if you die in here, I'm not taking responsibility for it, it was your fault. Now, get me the scorpions!" The last sentence was directed to the bodyguard, he nodded and walked out of the room. Bond didn't like the sound of that, scorpions had the potential to be very harmful devices of torture if used in the right hands, especially desert or Korean scorpions. Le Chiffre and Bond continued their mental battle for a few moments, before Bond asked "What is your cover-up plan?" "What? Why?" Le Chiffre shot back. "Oh, I don't know, I'm just interested." Le Chiffre frowned at him before replying "Very well, if you must know... After defeating me in that game of Baccarat I could not take the cost of defeat and stormed out of the Casino in an angered state. Being the well-mannered gentlemen you are you decided to invite yourself over to my villa to have a friendly game of poker there. Unfortunately you swerved from the road because of some unknown obstacle that was in your way and that, combined with the slippery and damp nature of the night, caused your car to spin out of control and roll down the hill, flipping several times. Your unconscious body flew out of a tear in the side of the car and into the lake, where you drowned because of your inability to swim caused by your untimely injuries. Any details that do not match-up to that story will either be removed or changed to avoid any difficulties when the police find your crashed car, of course we will alter it entirely should you walk out of here alive." Bond smiled and looked up at Le Chiffre's face, "What are you smirking at?" Le Chiffre snapped, "I have to give it to you 'Quantum' people, you really know how to make elaborate plans, 'organised terrorism', you really place an emphasis on the 'organised'." Bond watched as Le Chiffre's face drained of all colour present in it, his eyes popped out of his head and he looked down at Bond with them. They both heard the sound of one of the doors opening and the bodyguard emerged from the shadows, carrying a large wooden crate that was almost his size. He walked over to where Bond and Le Chiffre were sitting and placed the crate down beside them, grunting as he did so. Le Chiffre retrieved a small screwdriver from the inside of his dinner jacket and used it to unscrew the top of the crate, before prising open the lid violently. A horrible smell leaked through the open lid, enflaming Bond's nostrils, it smelled absolutely awful, like wet dirt and animal manure combined. Le Chiffre screwed up his face in disgust and took a pair of protective gloves from the bodyguard. He pulled them on with a 'snap' and reluctantly pushed his hand deep into the crate, looking horrified as he did so. After a few seconds spent digging around and making disgusted facial expressions, Le Chiffre pulled his hand out of the crate, he was holding a light blue coloured scorpion by the tail, it was quite small, but as Bond knew all too well, sometimes the smallest animals were the deadliest. It had red markings all up it's body and onto it's tail, it looked Asian, Korean to be more exact. It was helpless in the position Le Chiffre was holding it in, but it was struggling and rearing up at Le Chiffre, threatening him, daring him to let it go. Le Chiffre smiled at it's struggling form for a moment, before carrying it (still by the tail) over to Bond and dangling it over his chest. Bond struggled to break free of his bonds but the rope was too tight, so tight, in fact, that it was now very painfully digging into his bruised arms. Le Chiffre looked up at Bond's terrified face and smiled, Bond only made a passing glance to him, he didn't dare take his eyes of the scorpion for too long. The deadly little animal squirmed in Le Chiffre's grip, it's pincers were now pressed against Bond's naked chest, in it's struggle it snapped at Bond, causing a sharp pain in his stomach. Le Chiffre smiled at Bond's struggling and moved the scorpion around to Bond's hand, he placed it close once again, allowing it to snap at Bond's skin. Bond took his eyes of the scorpion momentarily and looked at were it had bit him previously. Thankfully, it's pincers weren't poisonous, but the sharp ends of them had drawn blood, which was now running down his body in a smooth trickle. The scorpion snapped at quite a sore bruise of Bond's, causing Bond to scream once again, the horrible sound of Bond's screams combined with Le Chiffre's menacing laughter echoed through the room. Le Chiffre lifted the scorpion from it's position once again and placed it on Bond's neck, he didn't hold it by the tail anymore, this time allowing it to crawl freely around Bonds' body. Bond looked down at the scorpion, it was crawling around his neck, causing a slight sting with every step of it's sharp feet, Bond and Le Chiffre both watched as the scorpion found a particularly soft spot of skin on Bond's neck and prepared itself, before lifting it's tail and plunging it's sting deep into Bond's neck. Bond felt the extremely sharp pain, followed by the flow of poison through his veins, the poison was like boiling hot water flowing though his veins, corrupting everything it touched. The scorpion withdrew it's sting, before scuttling across Bond's body and finding a spot on his chest, it waited a few seconds before lifting it's tail and plunging the sting back into his body. Bond screamed once again, he could feel his vision going murky, his hearing fail him, and then there was the pain, the pain was almost unbearable. His whole body was sore, bits of shrapnel were stuck deep into his skin, causing blood to mix with sweat and flow down of the chair, before gathering in a pool underneath his naked figure. Bond held his breath as the scorpion jumped down onto his thigh, before letting out a scream of unbelievable agony as the scorpion's deadly sting pierced his body once more. Bond breathed heavily out, the room was turning, causing Bond to lose his balance, laughter and screams were bouncing around the walls, causing an odd air of despair and enjoyment at the same time. Bond saw red, orange and the inky darkness, it was surrounding him, embracing him... Bond felt another sting in his leg, then another in his chest, in between them he screamed and writhed, he felt the scuttle of the insect moving around his body, then, he felt more. Bond could feel a thousand tiny legs moving around him, the breaks in between the pain were much shorter now, it wasn't long before it was blow after blow. The pain came sooner, the blows were sharper, the poison that now coursed through his veins wasn't as diluted. Bond heard more laughter, more screaming, he could hear two different screams, a man, and a woman's. What one was his? Was he laughing? Was someone torturing him? Or was he the torturer, laughing at their screams? Was he even in a torture chamber anymore? Was he ever in a torture chamber? Bond didn't know anymore, the world had left him long ago, all he could see or hear was a blur of colours and sounds, all he could feel was the pain all around his body and the ever-engulfing darkness. He could make out one man speaking, in a hurried, angry tone "Withdraw the scorpions now and give him the cure! He's dying and we need him alive!" Bond saw a man bend over him, felt the removal of the scorpions and calmly swallowed a strange, cool liquid, this was what he felt, before he passed out.

Bond awoke with his head on the floor of the room. He got up and looked around, his head hurt a lot and he could feel horridly painful sores all around his body. He as lying down, but the cane chair was still attached to him via the rope. He looked around from his position on the floor to see Le Chiffre looking down upon him, he was sitting down on the other cain chair beside the table, he was drinking a hot drink out of the tea cup and he had his feet rested against the wooden crate, which was completely closed off. Le Chiffre smiled a cruel smile with his thin mouth at Bond and said "It seems you've finally woken up, Mr Bond, we were a bit worried about you there. We've administrated an antidote to the scorpion's poison but there's no guarantee it's completely gone from your body." Bond looked up at him and replied "Isn't that the point of torture?" Le Chiffre placed the tea cup back on the table and walked over to Bond, he grabbed the cane chair Bond was tied too and lifted it all the way back up, onto it's feet with a grunt. He placed it back down, with it's feet on the ground and took a step back, before replying "Precisely, to cause more pain than a man can possibly endure." As he said it he punched Bond in the face, causing his nose to break. Bond screamed louder then ever before and went to naturally hold his nose in position with his hand, his reflex wasn't allowed to complete as he was still tied to the chair. The blood flowed down his lip and into his mouth, Le Chiffre laughed at Bonds' bloody, tied-up form nice again before punching him in the gut. Bond breathed in and out quickly, gasping for fresh air, it didn't come. Le Chiffre grabbed the chair behind him, drew it up to his position and sat back down upon it, still looking at Bond with a sinister smile planted on his face. He raised his hand and slapped Bond painfully across the right side of his face, before asking "Where is the money?" Bond looked back at him and replied "I don't have it on me, I haven't withdrawn it from the account yet, it's still in the decoder." "Okay, so, what's the password then?" Bond looked deep into Le Chiffre's face, the heat of the room caused him to sweat a lot, the little light that was pleasant in the room glowed of his face, causing his whole body to look oddly red. Bond couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation, he didn't really know why he was in hysterics, perhaps the poison was fracturing his mind. "What's so amusing?" Le Chiffre asked him, sounding only slightly annoyed Bond hadn't given him the password yet. Bond replied, still laughing uncontrollably "I'm not going to tell you the password, and you're going to die here, that's what!" Le Chiffre stood up and turned his back to Bond. "Ha! You're a funny man, Mr Bond, but I'm not going to die here, because even after I've killed you and your little girlfriend I'll be able to make my escape effortlessly, my people will still welcome me with open arms, they'll offer me protection from both the CIA and the secret service, protection I'll gladly take." "No, you're wrong." Bond snarled back. He continued "Because once I'm dead, your people will hunt you down and cut you into little pieces of meat while you're still breathing, because if you kill me, they'll be nowhere else to hide!" "Oh, but you are SO! WRONG!" Le Chiffre tuned on his heel and pointed a finger directly at Bond's face, as he yelled his face glowed redder and redder. "They won't kill me because I'll have the password, because you'll tell me the password, before I destroy what there is to identify you as a man..." "And what's that?" Bond retorted. "Well, let's see, your courage, your spirit, your sanity, your woman. But most of all, your manhood." He said that last sentence with a particular nasty mixture of venom in his mouth. Le Chiffre sat down on the chair once again, continuing his sentence "It's the simplest thing, to cause more pain then a man can possibly endure..." With this sentence, he kicked upwards into Bond's groin, causing even more pain to be applied to Bond's already crippled physical form and his screams to once more echo around the room horribly. Le Chiffre was correct, the pain was worse then anything Bond had ever felt in his entire life, it was worse then the scorpions, worse then the thought Mathis had betrayed him, even possibly worse then the prospect of losing Vesper. "...Now, my friend, you have two options, you can either attempt to resist the pain and my questions, or you can kneel before me, seduced by the prospect of no more pain being applied to your more... Sensitive areas. Now, the only question remains, will you kneel, in time?" Le Chiffre looked at Bond as he spoke, Bond didn't tell him anything, he simply looked back blankly, he had shut his body down almost completely, both too numb the pain and too more easily deflect Le Chiffre's mental barrages. Accepting he wasn't going to get anything out of Bond just now, Le Chiffre kicked Bond again, and again, each blow more painful then the last, Bond screamed louder and louder every-time. Eventually Le Chiffre withdrew again, allowing Bond to recover and take several deep breaths. Le Chiffre sat back down on the chair and began speaking. "You shouldn't have done this, Mr Bond..." "Done what?" Bond spat back. "You've come here! Gone into a war-zone, you've come in here, with your bucket and spade, with a newly minted licence to kill, and BAM! You've been tossed into a world you'll never understand, a world of politics and money, a deep, dark, complicated world, one that your usual attitude to life struggles to fit into comfortably. You, with your fast cars and your women, so old fashioned! This is a modern world, where people do modern things, terrorism is changing. This organisation I'm a part of, we're not about religion, we're not about beliefs, we're about the money, we can use the Internet and our computers to set-off long buried, Russian nuclear bombs at the touch of a button. You don't fit here Bond, you shouldn't have come here, you payed the price for attempting, you're paying it now." "I didn't come here on my own accord, the secret service sent me." "Yes, that old woman, she sent you here why? To teach you a lesson? Is that right? My dear boy, what are you, a toddler? Being pushed around by an old woman and blindly taking orders like a blunt instrument to be used in the Cold War!" "The Cold War hasn't ended!" "Yes it has! Not officially, but terrorism is no longer about explosives, whether they are nuclear or not! She sent you here consciously knowing you were not ready, knowing you would likely die, just to do what? Teach you a lesson!?" "Well, she's taught me her lesson already. I'm being beaten to an inch of my life by you right now because of my emotional attachment to Miss Lynd, because of my ego, I didn't get her because of her, she didn't know I was going to be captured..." "Yes she did! You're in dangerous territory here Bond, this is a brave new world, but also one where no-one is safe, including and especially members of top-secret government organisations like yourself. Now, back to business, what is the password?" Bond once again didn't reply. He heard Vesper's horrible screams ring through the wall loudly. "Give me the password and I'll at least let her live." Bond just shook his head stubbornly. Le Chiffre kicked him once more in the groin, causing him to scream once more, now blood was flowing down the chair leg onto the floor. Le Chiffre wiped the blood of his shoe and sat down once more, before leaning across and drinking some more of the hot drink. Bond opened his eyes and looked at Le Chiffre, it seemed the liquid he was drinking was boiling hot coffee. Bond was extremely thirsty, he got Le Chiffre's attention through eye contact and asked him for some. Surprisingly, Le Chiffre was compliant with Bond's demand, he poured a fresh cup of the coffee and walked over to Bond, Bond opened his mouth and waited for the liquid to flow down his throat. Le Chiffre leaned over him like a surgeon or toy-maker checking his work and poured the boiling hot coffee all over Bond's face. Bond screamed as the boiling liquid seared and burned him, he spluttered and choked as some of the liquid was forced down his throat. Le Chiffre watched with a horrible smile of satisfaction his face as Bond panted and screamed. He attempted to silence him by punching him across the face, when this proved useless he placed his foot on Bond's chest and applied force, knocking him over onto the ground while he remained tied to the chair. Le Chiffre knelt down over him and produced a folded-down Italian switchblade from inside his dinner jacket, with a press of a button and a flick of the wrist, the switchblades' small, sharp blade folded out. Bond watched in horror as Le Chiffre moved the knife closer to Bond's chest, what was he going to do to him? Le Chiffre went to slice Bond's right arms' wrist but before he could precede with his plan he heard a knock at the door. He looked up at the door, before turning back to Bond and punching him the face brutally. Bond felt himself slip out of his already very fragile conscious state and back into the inky blackness...

Chapter 15: The Recovery

Le Chiffre watched Bond's naked, bruised, beaten and unconscious form lay in a dark corner of the room. He had been out cold for almost an hour by now, Le Chiffre was starting to wonder if he would ever wake up. He walked over to the spot where his tortured form was huddled and knelt beside him. He rolled him over on his back and took his pulse, he was still breathing, he was alive, but only just. His injuries from both the torture and the car crash were severe, but Le Chiffre wasn't about to take him to a hospital just yet. He was tough, tougher than most MI6 agents, not many people in the world could take this much of a beating and still be very much alive, but even his body showed some constraints. Le Chiffre heard the 'click' and the 'creak' of a heavy metal door opening, he followed with his eyes to find Manuel (the thin bodyguard) standing in the doorway. "Manuel! My friend, come in! Come in!" Le Chiffre beckoned him to step inside. Manuel stepped out of the doorway and into the room. Le Chiffre stepped over Bond's body and sat down leisurely on his cain chair. "What news?" He drawled, taking out a handkerchief and dabbing his eye as he spoke. "Very little to nothing, I've tried not to harm her too much, as was your request, but she's being very... Difficult at the moment, I'm starting to wonder if she'll ever give in to my requests." Manuel replied. Le Chiffre pocketed the handkerchief and took out his inhaler, he closed off one nostril and inhaled through the other, repeating the process with the opposite nostril. "Have you tried the scorpions? Bond resisted them but it left him temporarily, emotionally damaged, it may have even more of an effect on a weak mind." Le Chiffre replied. "That's the point though, sir, she doesn't have a 'weak' mind as you say, she's resisting all my attempts. I don't think even the scorpions would be enough to make her blurt out what she knows, and besides, we don't want to poison her, there's hardly any of that antidote left, you used most of it on Bond." "Oh, VERY WELL!" Le Chiffre snapped. He stood up and started waving his hands around wildly "GO ON! TORTURE HER! DON'T USE THE SCORPIONS! JUST NEXT TIME YOU DARE ENTER THIS ROOM, YOU BETTER HAVE INFORMATION!" Manuel took a step back in fear "Yes, sir, sorry, sir." He replied bitterly. "Now, get out of my sight!" Le Chiffre dismissed him with a wave of his hand and sat back down on the chair. Manuel walked away from Le Chiffre, closing the door behind him. Le Chiffre looked across at Bond's unconscious form, when was Bond going to wake up? Suddenly, Le Chiffre felt a strange aura surround him, it felt very... Cold. Le Chiffre turned his head to see the door open, but no-one was standing there, had Le Chiffre or one of his bodyguards left it open? He didn't think so... When Le Chiffre turned his head back around he saw the man responsible. He was standing in the middle of the room, by Bond's unconscious form. He was wearing a completely dark black suit with a matching black tie and he had short white hair, he was quite old, he looked like he was in his sixties. He had dark brown eyes which matched his suit and a very serious look on his face, Le Chiffre knew him, all members of the Iron Fist knew him, his name was Mr White, and he was the organisation's Chief Director, who was overseeing this whole operation Le Chiffre was leading. Le Chiffre stood up and immediately took a nervous bow. Le Chiffre wasn't an easily scared man, in fact, he was the sort of man who you would imagine scaring the monsters. But even Le Chiffre was scared of Mr White, for he was a different breed of monster. He worked in the shadows, pulling the strings that was the organisations plans, Mr White was the very essence of the Iron Fist, he was it in physical form, so it was no wonder he was managing it. Le Chiffre stood back up on his feet and said "Mr White! What a pleasure this is, but may I ask, what are you here for?" Mr White walked around Bond's unconscious body and towards Le Chiffre, speaking with a cold, sinister but nevertheless very clear voice as he did so "I'm just checking on how this... Operation of yours is going." "U-uh... Very well, sir." Le Chiffre nervously replied, Mr White had the tendency to be extremely unpredictable. "LIAR!" Mr White shouted across the room. "I-I beg your pardon, sir?" Le Chiffre stammered. "You are lying, this operation is not going very well at all, you haven't got the money yet and this man isn't going to give it to you any time soon." He gestured towards Bond's tortured body. "Remember, Le Chiffre, this operation is of the upmost importance and I don't think you're the right man for the job after all, perhaps I'll have better luck with a new banker..." "S-so I'm 'dismissed from duty until further notice'?" "No, I don't trust you any more Le Chiffre, your recent failures are too numerous to be easily forgiven, our money is too important to be left in your grimy hands." "Please, Mr White, I beg of you! I'll have the money, I'll make up for my recent failures, I promise! Just give me more time, I will get this spy to spill out all he knows to me, I just need more time!" Le Chiffre was practically on his knees begging Mr White by now, but this only proved to Mr White that Le Chiffre was too weak to get his money back. He looked down at him, with a look of disgust on his face "No, no more chances at redemption, you have not stuck to the plan and you have failed me and my associates." "I PROMISE I'LL GET THE MONEY!" Le Chiffre was yelling and pleading at the same time. "I don't care, money is not as important to our organisation as knowing who to trust." Mr White raised a pistol from inside his suit pocket and pulled the trigger while it was aimed at Le Chiffre. The bullet went straight into his forehead, soon Le Chiffre's body joined Bond's, only blood was only flowing out of Le Chiffre's head and while Bond was unconscious, Le Chiffre was dead.

Bond didn't dare open his eyes for fear of what he might see, the last time he was conscious, Le Chiffre was about to slit his wrists with an Italian Switchblade, Bond didn't want to know where he was now, hearing it was bad enough. He could the sounds of screaming and hurried, stressed and angry voices, he could hear electronic beeps and incomprehensible sentences that sounded like their owners didn't know when to take a breath while speaking. The sounds faded and muffled in and out, causing a pulsing effect, Bond presumed this was the scorpion's poison taking effect, despite Le Chiffre giving him the antidote, he guessed Le Chiffre didn't give him enough for it too last long term, therefore causing more pain on Bond's behalf. Bond couldn't feel much, except for the gentle bump of a moving object beneath him, and the occasional pricking sensation along his arms, chest and groin. Bond finally opened his eyes when he felt the object stop and saw a large, blurred and very bright light, it shown directly into his eyes and caused him to squint. Bond heard a female voice and saw the silhouette of a woman bending over him, judging from her clothes she looked like a nurse or a surgeon, was he in a hospital. Bond felt the detachment of a wire from his chest and felt the horrible sensation that came with it, before long he was gasping for air and writhing horribly on the bed he was lying on, he heard a female surgeon yell "HE'S CONSCIOUS! WE HAVE TO CANCEL THE OPERATION!" Before hearing another voice, this one was belonged to a man "NO! IF WE CANCEL THE PROCEDURE NOW IT COULD BE TOO LATE FOR HIM, GIVE HIM THE ANAESTHETIC AND PROCEEDED AS NORMAL!" Bond could hear other hurried voices but he couldn't make out what they were saying, he felt a sharp pain in his arm before he once again passed out.

Bond could feel the presence of a traitor in the room, he felt sick in the stomach, his growing resentment for the man who he had once called a friend causing his gut to fill with bile. Bond could hear his voice, his laughter, a sound which once comforted Bond and lifted his spirits, now causing him great pain. Bond opened his eyes to see a blurred mess of a world, a world which looked like a watercolour painting, only one of which the paint was alive and sentient, moving around, casting shadows across the space of which Bond inhabited. Bond saw the figure of a man stand over him, it wasn't just any man either, it wasn't just a doctor or a nurse, it was him, the man he now hated so much, he dared enter the room where he lay, dared pretend to show concern for him. Bond couldn't take it anymore, his hate had reached breaking point, in his fury and confusion he lashed out at Mathis, plunging his hands into his neck. Mathis struggled against Bond's hands, who were latched on firmly to his neck. Eventually, Mathis broke free of Bond's grip, determined not to let him escape, Bond lunged from the bed, forgetting the presence of the wires and tubes that were attached to him. Bond felt the equipment detach from his body, overpowered by Bond's physical strength and determination, they tore off violently. Bond felt the pain all over his body as the morphine stopped flowing into his body, and the blood-packs caused his wounds to open up again. Bond was only half lying on the bed, the other half of his body was on the floor, with the drugs that were stabilising his condition no longer entering his body, he once again lost control of his body and fell into a deep sleep...

When Bond woke up he felt drowsy and sore, but nevertheless much better then he had previously. No longer did he feel like he was on the brink of death, of collapse, of the failure of his body. He opened his eyes and looked around, he was in a small room painted completely with white paint, the whole room had a very light, bright feel to it, which was helped by the window behind the bed, which had an opened blind which let it streaks of bright daylight. Beside the comfortable, pure white bed which Bond was lying on we're several pieces of medical equipment and, on the right side, a bedside table on which was an alarm clock and a bouquet of bright flowers, beside the flowers was a card, Bond leaned over to the table and took the card in his hands, opening it and reading the hand-written text, it read:

To James,

You appear to be both physically and mentally damaged, but I do hope you recover quickly. I also hope you find it in your heart to forgive Mathis, for I know for a fact he didn't wish you any harm when he apparently assisted Le Chiffre.

I am staying in a hotel just across from this hospital, if you ever need me, just ask one of the nurses to call the hotel's number and I'll be right around, then we can talk in more detail and understanding then by cards and flowers.

I once again wish you a quick and comfortable recovery.

From Vesper.

It was personally signed by her, in fact, there was no generic 'Get Well Soon' messages printed in the card, it was all hand-written. Bond appreciated Vesper's concern, Bond resented having thought of her as an object of which he used to ensure his own safety that night, she clearly thought of him highly, and Bond thought it was time for him to accept the fact he thought the same of her. However, he disagreed with her thoughts on Mathis and his betrayal, Bond wasn't going to forgive him anytime soon, the man was the reason he was in this place right now, it was the reason he was constantly being sent off to have all sorts of operations and medical procedures to lift the scorpion poison from his blood stream and repair the many broken bones, cuts, bruises, embedded chunks of metal and damaged organs he now had. Bond didn't care if Vesper didn't think of him as a traitor, Bond did, he still hated Mathis, perhaps it was because he was a person Bond had trusted greatly, perhaps that made his betrayal all the more disgusting to Bond, either way, the next time Bond was in the same room as Mathis, he would have him locked up and carted to MI6, where he would stand trial for his betrayal to the British Empire. Bond finished thinking about Mathis and placed the card back down on the table and looked at the clock, it was 12:15 AM, mid-day, how long had he been slipping in and out of consciousness? He remembered very vividly being carted into the hospital, and he also remembered attacking Mathis when he came to see him, but what else and happened? How much time had passed since that horrible night in the basement of Le Chiffre's villa? There was only one person Bond trusted nearby who he could get a correct answer out of, and that person was Vesper. Bond allowed himself to sink into the comfortable bed, he closed his eyes and tried not to fall asleep (it was very easy for Bond to slip out of consciousness at at the moment, with his unstable condition and the comfortable bed.) He just lay there, waiting for a nurse to come and check on him. Eventually, the door opened and two people entered, the first was a young, female nurse with brown hair and the second was Vesper, she was wearing the same business-like clothing as the day Bond first met her. Seeing he was awake, she walked over to the left side of the bed and knelt beside him, Bond looked down at her, and she looked back up at him, her blue eyes were full of concern. "Are you alright?" Was the first thing she said, in a meek, worried tone. "I think you have a better idea then me, I've only been awake for half an hour." He replied. She smiled at him, but the worried look on her face was still there, her lip was trembling, after a few seconds, she burst into tears. Bond watched with a confused look on his face, what was she crying about? She was simply kneeling by his bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Bond watched her for a few more seconds before finally opening his mouth and asking "What's wrong?" Vesper wiped the tears from her face and looked up at him, she was still crying a little bit "I-I'm sorry James, it's j-just th-that it was all m-my fault!" She wiped the fresh tears which were forming in her eyes off her face and tried to remain formal, swallowing and sniffing back the tears. Bond looked back at her, his emotions still a mix of confusion and concern "What? No it wasn't, I think we both know whose fault it was!" He replied. "I-I made you f-follow me, if I hadn't gotten c-captured..." She had appeared to stop crying, but her eyes were still watery and her face was still locked in that worried expression. "No, it was nothing that you did, it was them, they tricked you, they used Mathis, they got us captured, they tortured me, and you too." Bond was trying to be firm with her so she understood clearly what he was trying too say, at the same time he was trying to not come across as too cold, yes, in the field his compassion was a weakness, as he had learnt that night, but here it was an asset he could use to get Vesper back together. "B-but if I h-hadn't fallen for the trap..." "It wasn't a trap! Mathis betrayed us and you know it." "No, no I don't believe that." Vesper shook her head in denial. "Le Chiffre told me after I crawled out of the car wreckage..." Bond begun, but Vesper cut him off "And you trust Le Chiffre's word more then your friends?" Bond didn't want to begin an argument, he just wanted to know what had happened between the night he had won the game and now. "Vesper, listen, there is a time and place to discuss this and now is neither." "Why not?" She shot back. Bond nodded to the nurse, who was standing by the door timidly, not daring to come and perform her duties. "Oh, very well! What else do you want to talk about then?" Her tone was icy, she obviously angry at Bond, but at-least she wasn't angry at herself anymore, the tears had stopped flowing now. "Right, how long have I been in here? And what of Le Chiffre and the bodyguards?" Vesper stopped kneeling and sat down on the edge of Bond's bed, she looked down at him and replied "You've been here for two weeks now, slipping in and out of consciousness unpredictably." Before Vesper could continue the nurse stepped in and picked up her sentence "You've been in quite an unstable condition over the course of the two weeks, possibly due to the heavy degree and amount of injuries you've sustained, you will find out the full degree of your damages and general medical condition when your visit the doctor in charge of your successful recovery in two days time, once all your required operations and medical procedures are complete and the doctor is satisfied with your condition you will be sent to a recovery centre." "Will I have to pay personally for this 'recovery centre' and is it necessary?" "I'm afraid, due to Doctor Simeon's guidelines and your highly crippled physical state that it will be a necessity. As for how much it will cost it appears you have free insurance from your employer that covers severe injuries and hospitalisation, included in that insurance plan is the necessary funds for a recovery centre, your employer will choose a suitable centre for you that will be hopefully to your liking." "And after that?" "They will clear you when they are satisfied with the state of your physical and mental health and you will have your freedom back." Bond went to ask another medical-related question but Vesper cut in "...Thank-you for that information now as I was about to say before I was interrupted..." Vesper shot a glare at the nurse, who avoided Vesper's gaze by making herself useful and changing Bond's bandages and blood-packs. Vesper continued her sentence, returning her attention to Bond "...Both of the bodyguards seemingly fled the villa but were both found dead early during the next morning by two Italian farmers, who were apparently looking for a cow of there's who had fled their property. They found the bodies reasonably close to each other in the forest near the villa, they both had one ten millimetre bullet lodged in their skulls, it was apparently shot by a small, easily concealed pistol. Their bodies are both in the Royale town morgue." "And what of Le Chiffre?" "He was found dead right beside you, a ten millimetre bullet was also found in his skull, probably fired by the same gun. I'm sorry, but I don't know the details, this isn't really my area of expertise, that would be finances and money." Bond shook his head "No, don't worry, I don't need too much detail." "Is there, anything else?" She asked, her voice still had a slight sting to it, but overall she seemed to of warmed up to him again. Bond replied "Yes, actually. Now, this seems like stupid question, but I'm sure you'll understand, where exactly am I?" Vesper laughed under her breath and replied "You're in the Montenegrin National Private Hospital, of course, it's the supposed to be the best hospital in Montenegro, although there's not much in the way of competition." Bond smiled at her and said "Thank-you, that's all the information that's been nagging me in my dreams throughout the past two weeks." "You're welcome, now get well soon and don't try to do anything if the hospital is under threat from some bomb blast or something." Bond watched with a look of amusement on his face as the nurse looked confused, before turning back to Vesper "Don't worry, I won't and thank-you again." s She sat up and walked to the door, wishing him a swift recovery once more before being escorted by the still-confused nurse out of the building. Bond sat back deep into the pillows and covers of the bed, to be honest, he was surprisingly comfortable in the hospital, although he suspected he would soon ache for the day he would be cleared for duty and sent back out into the field.

Chapter 16: A Whisper of Love

Bond did not see Vesper again until when he was staying at the recovery centre, but he found himself thinking about her more and more frequently, not that he really had a choice, considering she never gave him a chance to temporarily forget about her with the constant stream of flowers and cards arriving on his bedside table or being delivered by one of Bond's nurses. When Bond arrived in Doctor Simeon's office (he had to be wheeled in by his current nurse as they didn't believe he was ready to start walking again) he was given the full assessment of the damage taken by his body. Doctor Simeon showed Bond the x-ray's and official reports from the surgeons and nurses, pointing out sections and sentences of interest to him while giving him all the details on his injuries. "You have severe scaring all along your right leg, which appears to be from a motion burn." The doctor, pointed along an x-ray and photograph of Bond right leg, the severe burn run right across his leg from his thigh to his foot, it was looking a lot less red then the last time Bond had seen it. Doctor Simeon continued "However, we will probably not operate of treat it, as it looks like it's healing up nicely already. In fact, it looks a lot less recent then your other injuries." "Yes, I sustained it prior to the car crash and subsequent... Incident." Bond was careful not to elaborate exactly what had happened, he knew the hospital would not ask any questions either, as they had seen his employer and had received a personal message from Tanner explaining the situation. "I understand, now apart from that burn your right leg doesn't appear to have sustained any other injuries but your left leg is a different story..." "Go on." Bond replied, almost afraid to hear what Doctor Simeon had to say, Bond himself didn't know where his injuries were, obviously it hurt more in some places then others, but his body was so unstable and weak right now, that everything just sort of... Numbed and blurred together, he didn't really have the time or energy to thoroughly examine his body, all he knew is that it was all sore and certain editions were more painful to touch or even to have present on your body. Doctor Simeon continued talking, snapping Bond out of his train of thought in the process "You have several small pieces of various metals and plastics embedded in your skin, causing occasionally severe scarring and a build up of tissue around the affected area, you also have quite a few severe bruises and various cuts ranging from insignificant to serious." "What can you do to help all of that?" "Well, we're going to have too operate on the embedded metal and stitch up a few of the more major wounds, therefore we are also going to have to bandage both your legs and treat them regularly with various medical drugs, such as Morphine." "So I'll be confined too a wheelchair until they heal over themselves?" "I'm afraid so." Bond still hadn't tired of life in the hospital, but being immobile could prove difficult for him, and this was the first time he had suffered serious injuries and hospitalisation during his time in the field, so it was perfectly understandable for him to get a little restless, he had Vesper and the news on how the Union was going to keep his mind from wandering too far, and Vesper in particular was more then enough to keep him occupied. "Your chest area has received major scarring and bruising much like what was present on your left leg, they too will need to be performed on, one change is the large presence of broken or fractured Bond's in that area of your body, you will need to various slings too slowly push them back in place. Your face, as you probably already know, has received much the same damage as your left leg and chest, with several pieces of metal causing a build-up of scar tissue across your forehead and cheeks." "What about my arms, I've found I can barely move my left one, it's not painful, just sort of... Numb." "I was just about to get to that." The doctor sounded annoyed that Bond had interrupted him during his explanation. He regained his complexion and continued "Now, the area around your groin is mostly untouched, but I'm afraid the same can't be said for your testicles themselves." "What's wrong with them?" The doctor swallowed and breathed heavily out, as if preparing to bear very hard news, this did not bode well. Bond had suspected something would be very, very badly wrong with them after that night in the basement, while Bond couldn't feel much in the way of pain we could still feel that his groin felt much more painful then any other area on his body. "Now, your testicles haven't actually been that badly damaged but they have still be quite brutally and, I imagine, painfully sliced open, meaning that by the time we operated on them while you were still in a deep state of unconsciousness, they were damaged by that lose of blood that, well..." "What?" Bond shot at him, eager to learn what exactly had happened. "I'm sorry, Mr Bond, but you will never be able to produce children naturally." Bond simply looked at him with a blank expression on his face, while it was admittedly shocking, Bond found himself not really caring, he didn't want children in his life, his line of work was too dangerous to preserve long-term relationships or consider starting a family, Bond simply shrugged off the revelation and allowed the doctor too finish with the medical report. Doctor Simeon finished up the report with the good news that both the Digitalis and the scorpion poison was now completely out of his body, they said there farewells and Bond was returned to his hospital room by the nurse. The next month was quite a repetitive one, Bond regularly returned to Doctor Simeon's office to hear what he had to see on his progress, in the mean time relaxing in his bed, reading the headlines via the Internet and just generally getting some rest in between the operations the to doctors, nurses and surgeons performed to repair his body. After what seemed like an eternity spent lying in a bed, Bond finally left the hospital with Doctor Simeon's approval to begin his general recovery in the care of the nurses at the 'Lake Como Recovery Centre' which was, as you could easily guess by the title, situated on the shore of Lake Como. Which happened to lead in from the lake of which Royale was surrounded by. In fact, the recovery centre was nestled at the foot of a mountain of which you could see from the road which lead to Royale, the same road Bond had chased Le Chiffre and his men down. Being right beside it, the recovery centre shared the same type of scenery as the town, there were rolling hills and high, snow-capped mountains, and a glassy, peaceful lake only occasional disturbed by a light, cool breeze. It was the beginning of Spring in Montenegro and the farmland which surrounded the recovery centre was full of hustle and bustle, as was the town of Royale, no doubt. This also meant that the dazzling, multi-coloured flowers that Montenegro's valleys and lake districts were famous for were in full bloom, causing a dazzling ripple of colour to flow down from the mountains to the shore of the lake. The recovery centre itself consisted of three small, modern Italian buildings scattered throughout a complex of neatly-kept gardens and flowerbeds, all of which reflected the plant life that was growing outside of the centre, in the forests and farmland that accompanied it. It was during one such bright, colourful day that Bond found himself sitting in one of these gardens, still in a wheelchair, sipping wine and pretending to enjoy the majestic scenery of a Montenegrin Spring, with the flowers and the mountains and the blue skies. Bond was not one for scenery, he very rarely, if ever enjoyed looking at it, and he especially did not like the bright colours that many of them brung with them. This was especially so now, in his weakened state, where bright light irritated his eyes horribly. He had been told by one of the nurses at the centre's reception that someone was coming to see him, and he was too wait here for their arrival. He was told it was a 'friend'. Admittedly, his first thought had jumped to Vesper, but he was told it was his 'old friend Mathis', just hearing his name filled Bond with disgust. But instead of leaping out of a bed and attempting to strangle him as he had done in the hospital, Bond had decided that the best plan of action was too deal with Mathis calmly and quietly. After-all, Vesper was right, Bond was stupid to trust Le Chiffre's word over his friend's, but he still doubted Mathis, as his betrayal made perfect sense, from Mathis's point of view, at-least. Bond had called in several of Mathis's men (who Mathis trusted, luring him into a perfect trap the way he had lured Bond and Vesper into one) to step in while Bond distracted him. They were to use any less-violent means possible to immobilise him, before carrying him off to MI6, where he would be interrogated for information and a case would be made for his betrayal. Bond took another sip of the wine, and looked out over the valley, which was basically the same shape as the one beside it, the one that held Royale. It consisted of a large lake in the centre with several mountains and hills to it's left and right sides, each the base of the mountains s contained farmland, forests and settlements, such as the recovery centre and Royale, although Royale was situated on a moderately-sized island. Bond heard a door open behind him and looked in the direction to see exactly who he was expecting, Mathis, accompanied by a nurse. Despite the whole 'strangling' thing, Bond expected Mathis to still be friendly towards Bond, to greet him as usual with a smile on his face and laughter undermining his tone, after-all, Mathis didn't know Bond suspected him of betrayal. This was not the case, Mathis was wearing a long, grey coat and sunglasses to cover his eyes, he was unshaven and had a sour look on his face, his usually slicked-over and tidy hair was messy and matted, and the Spring breeze along the lakeside hadn't caused it, Bond could see bags hanging under his eyes, just below his sunglasses. Overall, Mathis looked disheveled, tired and distressed, a stark contrast to his usual happy, colourful self. Bond greeted him with an unfriendly and cold "Hello" and Mathis returned the favour with a dismissive wave, walking straight past him towards the balcony just in-front of Bond. He knelt down on the stone railing and looked out at the majestic mountains and moving boats adorning the lake. Bond decided that he best make use of Mathis while he was here, and get some information out of him. Bond just hoped it wouldn't be a false trail of bread crumbs left by Mathis's employer, whoever that now was. Bond decided to begin the conversation with the subject that was on his mind "Did you hear Le Chiffre was killed shortly before the MI6 agents, accompanied by the police, found me?" Bond asked Mathis's back. "Huh? Yes, yes I did, he was found with a 10 millimetre bullet stuck in his brain, wasn't he?" Bond had clearly interrupted Mathis's train of thought by speaking, he seemed to be concentrating on something, something he didn't want Bond to find out through reading his face or eyes. Bond spoke again "May I ask, what are you here for Mathis?" "Uhhhh, James, I thought that would be obvious... I'm just here to check up on a friend, I mean, you've just been brutally tortured and hospitalised for one and half months..." "Why are you here really?" Bond shot back, this time his voice carried a firmness that wasn't present previously, he was getting impatient. "Why did you try to strangle me in the hospital?" Bond had been afraid he would ask that. Bond took another sip from his drink, mulling over in his bed how to best tackle the question without revealing what he knew of Mathis's allegiance. As he thought he looked at the back of Mathi's head, he had still not turned around during the whole conversation. Eventually, Bond spoke "I honestly don't know Mathis, I was slipping in and out of a coma for two weeks, I must have done it when I was in a particularly delirious state..." "Don't lie to me, James, if you were so 'delirious' and 'in a coma' how come how come you can remember the incident?" "I don't know, I'm not an expert on these matters, what I do know is that I had no motivation for lashing out at you." This was a lie, plain and simple, and Bond thought Mathis knew it, but for some reason, he let it slide. "Forget I mentioned it, I would prefer now to change the subject." There was an awkward period of silence where they both simply stared blankly at the colourful scenery, which was broken by Mathis, who was true to his promise on 'changing the subject.' Mathis spoke once again, still not taking his eyes off the mountains "Do you have any idea why they left you two alive that night?" Bond took another sip from his martini, and replied "No." "Me neither, as usual, one fails to understand the criminal mind." "I thought you would know all about the criminal mind, Rene." Mathis turned to look at Bond through his sunglasses, a confused look was on his face. He watched as over Bond's shoulders three of Mathis's men walked across the grass, towards them. "Who are they here for?" Mathis pointed at the men, Bond looked over his shoulder, they had arrived. He turned back, and as they passed him he opened his mouth and looked into Mathis's concealed eyes "You." One of them walked behind Mathis, Bond watched as he plunged the taser concealed in the cuff of his suit into Mathis's back. Mathis's body jolted for a few seconds, before his eyes closed and his body went limp. The same man carried the unconscious Mathis onto the portable stretcher which the other two had set up just beside Bond. Bond watched as the three men carried the stretcher down the path that led from the balcony and out of sight. Having settled the matter, and feeling satisfied with the outcome, Bond finished his drink and settled back into the wheelchair, it was surprisingly comfortable, probably because it was covered in soft blankets. Bond closed his eyes and let the grip of sleep take hold of him, he could feel the cool breeze on his face, and he could hear the tweets of birdsong and the gentle waves on the lake caused by the boats. All these sensations and sounds slowly went out of focus, eventually there was nothing left but a void, a void which contained absolutely nothing but darkness, Bond had fallen into a deep sleep.

Bond awoke a few hours later to see Vesper's face looking down upon him. She was wearing a summery, emerald-coloured dress with matching green earrings. Her hair was tied up not in the simple, tight bun she was wearing before, but in a much more relaxed way, her eyes shone bright blue. Overall, she looked quite unlike the stern, business-like Vesper who Bond had talked too in the hospital, this Vesper looked more relaxed and kind-hearted. Seeing Bond was awake she smiled at him and opened her mouth to speak "I couldn't resist waking you, and when I do you look at me like you've never seen me before, it makes me feel... Reborn." Bond breathed in and replied "And you like that?" Vesper smiled back at him, she looked much happier on the outside then when she had last seen Bond, but Bond could tell there was something wrong with her, for behind the facade of a smile lay another face, one which had a sad look which deeply troubled Bond. Vesper could see Bond's blue eyes dart around her face, she could tell he was reading her. "Is something wrong?" She asked. "Is there something troubling you?" He replied. "What? No, it's just, don't worry..." "Vesper, if something's wrong, I can help, you just need to tell me what's wrong first." Vesper wasn't annoyed with Bond's nagging yet, which was odd, as most people would have snapped at him right now, whatever was wrong, it was something concerning him, he could tell... "No seriously James, nothing's wrong with me." She replied, still using the kind voice that indicated the problem wasn't with him, but involving him. Vesper kept rambling, almost determined to take his attention of her face so he couldn't read her anymore "I'm fine, trust me, there's nothing wrong..." "Don't close me off, I can help you..." "No you can't, there's nothing wrong and even if there was you probably couldn't help, and besides... Oh, Look! There's Mr Mendel!" Vesper pointed towards the pathway that Mathis's bodyguard's had wheeled his unconscious body down, coming through the shaded walkway was the swiss banker from the Casino, Mr Mendel. He took a step of the pavement and onto the damp grass walking towards Bond and Vesper, he was carrying a large briefcase. Vesper waved at him and he waved back, although his attention was on Bond. He stepped towards him and knelt to his level enthusiastically, he was practically bouncing off his feet. "Good afternoon, Mr Mendel." Vesper politely said. "Good afternoon Miss Lynd, how have things been with the British Treasury?" "I don't know directly as I haven't been there." "Then were have you been?" Mendel asked inquisitively. "Too insure Mr Bond's safe recovery I have been staying in a hotel just across from the hospital." "Wouldn't that be a job for an MI6 agent though?" Vesper hadn't expected Mendel to ask this, she thought for a moment, before replying. "Well yes, but I was given permission by the treasury to continue work at the Montenegrin branch of the treasury, so I was still working for them." "Well, that's all very interesting Miss Lynd but my business this fine spring afternoon is with Mr Bond." The grin on his face returned as he turned around to look at Bond, who hadn't said a word since Mendel got there. Both Mendel and Vesper expected Bond to greet him, but Bond still did not say a word. Eventually, Mendel broke the silence but saying "Right, well firstly, I would like to say 'congratulations' on your spectacular defeat of Le Chiffre." "Thank-you." Bond replied blankly. "Secondly, I wish you a quick recovery after that dreadful car accident..." Bond looked over at Vesper, Mendel clearly hasn't been told the truth, he probably didn't even know Le Chiffre was dead, MI6 no doubt hadn't told him. They both turned back to Mendel, who continued his sentence "And lastly, I'm here today to officially transfer your winnings to the secret service's account, I've brought the decoder with me..." He opened up the briefcase and carried out the machine, placing it on the table beside Bond. "Now, simply enter the password you chose at the Casino and I'll do the rest." Bond looked over at Vesper "Well, you can do it." He said to her. "I would if I knew what it was." She replied. "I'll tell you." He said as she stood up and passed him, kneeling down once more to enter the password into the machine. She looked at the keypad, each key had a number from 1-9 on it and three letter from the alphabet. Bond had made sure to memorise it when he passed it, but how could he forget it, maybe as numbers, but not as words... He started dictating it to her, he decided to use the form he remembered the most, the words. "V-E." Vesper entered the first two letters into the decoder. Bond let her finish and continued "S-P." she entered the next two. Bond finished the password "E-R." She went to enter the final two letters but hesitated before doing so, one of the best things that could have possibly happened to her just happened. Mr Mendel asked her what was wrong, snapping her out of her train of thought in the process, she replied "Nothing." But Bond knew it was something, and he knew what it was. He expected her too like the fact he thought about her when typing the password, but Bond had been wrong before... She typed the last two letters into the keypad and Mendel proceeded to transfer the money. She walked away from his busy form and sat back next too Bond, she looked up at him with a mixture of surprise and happiness on his face. Bond smiled down at her, playfully asking "What's wrong?" When she responded by crying though, Bond thought he had upset her again. Tears were streaming down her face, just like they had been in the hospital and she was staring at nothing in particular, seemingly contemplating exactly what had happened. A long period of time passed where the birds tweeted, Mendel typed away at the keypad of the decoder and Vesper stared at the mountains while crying and sniffing softly. The awkward silence was eventually interrupted by Vesper, who spoke meekly through tears and coughs "J-James, I-I just want you too know that you are more of a man then any other I have ever met..." Bond let Vesper continue, he knew what was going to come next "James, when you asked me if something was bothering me and I said there was nothing... Well, I was lying. Something is troubling me, and I think you know what it is..." Bond nodded and spoke at the same time "Yes." "The reason I tried to deflect it is because I didn't want you to find out unless I was absolutely sure you felt the same way, and just then, well, you kind of proved it." Bond nodded once more, and watched as Vesper drew her face closer to his, she continued talking as they drew closer "But you're not going to let me in there, are you? You've got your armour back on..." Bond was confused "What armour?" "The one that Le Chiffre stripped from you, the one that keeps you efficient and the one that keeps you alone. I can't get as close to you as we would both like if you are wearing that..." Bond thought on what she had said, she was right, their relationship wasn't possible if that 'armour' was in the way. But, for the time being, it wasn't, and they could be together, in peace... He replied to her "I have no armour left. You've stripped it from me. Whatever's left, whatever I am... I'm yours." This was the last straw for Vesper, she was convinced, moved to tears at this brave deceleration from Bond. She wiped the tears from her eyes and let Bond embrace her, everything else turned into a swirl of colours and sounds. On Vesper's side, nothing else mattered but Bond. And on Bond's side, nothing else mattered but Vesper. Vesper closed her eyes as he kissed her softly, they stayed that way, with Vesper sitting on the wheelchairs armrest and Bond sitting on the base, for what felt like a lifetime. Perhaps it was a lifetime, perhaps Bond and Vesper would withdraw to find they were the only people left on Earth, that would be nothing but a good thing, for all they both needed now was each other...

Chapter 17: Morning Never Comes

"Let's get out of this rain, I'm soaking!" Vesper yelled through the pound of quickly falling water. Bond withdrew from her and grasped her hand, together they ran across the slippery and wet grass hill and into Bond's room, Vesper quickly shut the door behind them, casting a barrier between them and the outside. Bond took of his coat and hung it up on the door, before sitting down on a wooden seat just beside the door-frame, panting and spluttering as he did so. He had only just regained full control over his legs (It had been a long and occasionally painful process) and he was still quite weak, but at least he was fully mobile again, only the occasionally cut and bruise and the odd bit of sore scar tissue needed to heal now. Bond looked up at Vesper who flashed a smile at him for a second before walking past him and sitting on another identical wooden chair, this one was beside the rooms singular glass window. She pressed her cheek against the glass and listened to the now soft and muffled pound of the rain, she felt the cool glass soothe her doubts and worry's. But she didn't need the window and the rain to do this, as Bond was there to serve the same purpose. He regained his composure and walked behind her, wrapping his hands around her gently. She smiled at him and said "So much for a 'glorious spring day with clear blue skies and colourful fields of flowers.'" Bond replied, whispering in her ear "I personally prefer this type of weather myself, it's more 'romantic'." Vesper laughed and sat up from the chair, Bond withdrew from her and stood up also. "I thought the sun setting was meant to be romantic?" Vesper asked. "Not in my book." Vesper walked over to the double bed and lay down on it, replying to him as she did so "Well, you should never take advice on the weather from James Bond..." Bond laughed and joined her, throwing himself down onto the bed. Vesper turned his head to look at him, and he did the same. "How long do you think you're going to be in this 'recovery centre'?" She asked him. "I don't know, however long it takes for me to be completely healed. A better question is, how long are you going to stay with me?" "I'm on holidays, that's the reason I've been able to come down and see you nearly every day." "How long's this 'holiday' going to last?" "Oh, I don't know, hopefully forever..." Bond smiled at her and asked another question. "And where are you staying?" "The same hotel we stayed at when we were in Royale, I figured I'd stay there as I now officially have a 'member's discount'." "Finally, tell me Vesper, are you actually on holiday in Montenegro or are you just here because of me?" Vesper replied "What makes you think that?" "You lied to Mr Mendel and told him you were 'officially overseeing my recovery'." Vesper hesitated for a moment, she was clearly thinking on this question, eventually, she answered "I think you can guess why." Bond smiled at her and pulled the cool sheets over them both, there they both lay, embracing each other as they heard the soft sound of rain bucketing down upon the rooftop. Bond was cleared by the nurses from the recovery centre a few days later with only the odd minor injury left to heal. He was amazed by the fact he wasn't counting down the days until his freedom would be restored, he didn't really need the excitement of work or the worries of the war to keep him occupied while his body was restoring itself, he had Vesper to occupy him, and she was more then enough to keep his sanity in check. Those days Bond had spent roaming the fields and gardens surrounding the lake with Vesper were some of the best days of Bond's life, which was surprising because they were the sort of lifestyle Bond always thought he would never enjoy. With each passing day Bond longed less and less for a return to England and the work that accompanied it, now all he wanted, and all he needed, was Vesper. Bond was given some minor medical supplies to keep with him by the nurse before he was on his way. Vesper had planned a holiday along the shores of Italy, down through the caribbean, around the Bahamas, Jamaica and Croatia. Bond had agreed it would be a nice place to spend their remaining weeks of holidays together. Vesper had made a deal with a man who had a small yacht for sale to buy it, he was from somewhere in France, and had sailed around on it One night they found themselves staying in a lonely, little inn just down the road from a small dock, where the yacht was moored. Cold rain was pouring down, casting strange shadows into the dark, Croatian night. Bond watched outside the window as the odd car roared past in a fast flash of light, never stopping, always cutting through the night and the water that accompanied it. Bond turned around to see Vesper sitting opposite to him at the private, two-seat table they had reserved. The inn was also a small bar on the bottom floor, and Bond and Vesper had decided to have dinner there, claiming a 'patrons discount'. The warm orange light was bottled up inside the inn, causing the chill of the night to never enter the room, the overall atmosphere was quite romantic, which suited the occasion. The orange light was causing dark shadows to fall upon them both, all Bond could make out of Vesper was her silhouette and her bright blue eyes, they shone like two small, blue lamps through the shadows. Bond decided to make conversation with her "I've been wondering, Vesper, will I ever get to know you properly?" "Well, what do you call this?" Vesper replied, Bond could not see her lips move, she was still sitting back in the shadows. "That's not what I meant." "What did you mean then?" Bond's eyes started wandering around the small, stone and wood plated room, they seemed to be desperate for something to do while his brain thought of a suitable sentence. Eventually, he found one "I meant, will I ever actually understand you? All this, this 'floating around aimlessly' thing, I love it but..." "But what?" She was still speaking in the shadows. "But I get the feeling you've been... Hiding something from me, you told me that day on the shore of Lake Como that the thing that was bothering you was whether or not I shared your feelings, but I don't think that was it... What is bothering you, my love? What is it you wish to tell me that, for some reason, you cannot?" "What makes you still think that? There was a great many amount of things that were bothering me that day, and the nature of our relationship was just one. I promise you, James, I promise you I did not lie to you that day, and I think, deep down, you know that... You know that I love you more then I have loved anyone or anything ever, and I think you feel the same way." She had still not revealed her face to him, perhaps she was afraid he would read it. "If you still love me deeply then, what is it that I have seen worry you so much?" Bond replied, he would normally be annoyed at Vesper for dodging the question, but her brave declaration previously had proven to him that the manner of the problem was not there relationship, but something else, perhaps something even more worrying... "Really, it's not something you should be worrying about, there are a lot of things that go through my head at any one time... I'm afraid I'm a very complicated woman, James." Bond picked up his glass and took a sip of the scotch in it, it was a British brew, despite the country Bond was drinking it in. Bond swallowed the mouthful of alcohol and replied "That really is something to be afraid of..." Vesper laughed and finally moved forward out of the shadows, leaning herself against the small, wooden table. The orange light that bounced around the room highlighted her beauty wonderfully, even though she wasn't wearing the dresses or over-complex hair styles that the Casino almost required from a woman. Her clothing was simple and she remained with the 'relaxed' look that she had introduced in the recovery centre. Bond took another sip from his glass and laughed silently to himself, swallowing the alcohol and replying "Okay, that was quite good, wasn't it?" "It was very good." She replied, smiling as she did so. Bond put down the drink again and asked Vesper once more "But seriously, what is it that's troubling you? Even if I can't help, I want to know..." Vesper breathed heavily out "Oh, all right..." She sounded defeated, even without showing her face Bond had worn her down verbally. "It was about, and it still is about... Mathis." "Mathis?" Bond sounded confused, why would Vesper want to know about Mathis? "Yes, it's just been... Difficult, coming to terms with his betrayal." "It's been difficult for me too, I've never known true betrayal until now, it feels... Horrible, to say the least." "But at least you have some experience playing the morality game, I have had some trouble with this declaration from Le Chiffre. When betrayal can be so close to you, it feels... Frightening. It makes you feel unsafe even, like at any moment your best friend could turn around and stab you in the back..." Bond leaned forward across the table and held Vesper's hand underneath it, he spoke in a reassuring tone. "If this job, if this war in the slightest has taught me anything, it's that betrayal is the most horrible thing, but it's something that can be coped with, and it can be defeated. I don't trust anyone anymore, I used too, but then Mathis came along and changed everything. My boss, M, this is what she has tried to teach me, well, it's one of the things she has tried to teach me. I don't trust anyone anymore, because if I do, I'll likely join them in their betrayal and go gallivanting off to some organisation somewhere in the world. Trust is a very dangerous thing, it can hurt you, it can teach you and it can change you, but you've got to live with it, and accept it, because otherwise it will never go away..." Bond finished his speech and looked up at Vesper, she had a look of understanding on her face that helped Bond know he had reached out to her, and quite possibly touched her heart. He was not finished yet though, he took another sip from the scotch glass and continued "But not trusting anymore is a dangerous thing too because if you don't, you get paranoid and then your whole world just goes to hell. There has to be several people in the world you can trust, otherwise it's impossible to have contact with anyone, it's impossible to love anyone, and that's why you leave your trust in the hands of someone who understands how important it is too you." Bond gripped Vesper's hands more tightly and looked up at her. It took her a few moments but she realised what he was getting across. Having revealed what was troubling her he now fully trusted her with everything he had, he was now truly giving her everything he was without his armour on. He opened his mouth to reinforce what he was saying "My life in your hands, Vesper Lynd." There relationship and trust in each other fully restored, they spent the rest of the night making love underneath the warm sheets of their shared room, all the uncertainty had disappeared, and they both emerged from the sheets unscathed, the bonds of their relationship now stronger then ever.

Chapter 18: The Resignation

The next few weeks continued to be as blissful as possible to Bond. He hadn't noticed any suspicious behaviour from Vesper since that one evening on the shores of Jamaica and

"I'm quitting it..." "What?!" "I'm quitting the job, like you said, that armour is what keeps me alone, if I want to preserve this relationship I'm going to need to be stripped from it, permanently. Because I'll have a few weeks of pure bliss floating around the world with you before I'll be thrown back into an entirely different world, a world of terrorists and violence, a world I wasn't made for, a world no human was made for. That's why I have to wear that armour, it's what keeps me alive when I'm in that world, if I quit the job, I'll won't have to enter that world, and I won't have to wear that armour. I won't have to carry the burdens of destroyed innocent lives around with me. If I quit the job, there will be nothing between us, nothing stopping this from lasting forever, because I want it to last forever, and I think you do too."

Chapter 19: Venice

Bond looked up from the laptop to lay his eyes on a glorious sight. The midday sun dazzled the water, making it glow and shimmer with golden light, casting shadows over the moored gondolas and riverside buildings. From small villas situated on canal bridges to tall clock-towers, Venice was a sprawling, bustling, riverside metropolis but one that kept it's roots in fine condition, there was barely a modern building in sight, much like Royale, the renaissance had been kind to Venice. Bond could feel the smooth and gentle 'rocking' motion of the yacht cutting through the glistening water. They were sailing through a large water reserve which led into the Grand Canal, they were at the entrance to the city, on the far north of the complex system of canals and reserves. Squinting in the sun and the bright nature of the whole scene, Bond slipped on a pair sunglasses. In the now-dimmed light, he could see Vesper standing on the podium, guiding the boat towards the city centre with the steering wheel. She was wearing a black and white top and jeans, her hair was done up in a simple pony-tail, she was also wearing sunglasses. She looked behind her shoulder, seeing Bond had finished his business on his laptop, she smiled at him and said "Why don't you take the wheel? I've never been to Venice before, I want to take some pictures." Bond replied, turning off his laptop and pushing the screen down in the process "Sure, the scenery sure is impressive isn't it? Much like something else I know..." Vesper beamed at him and walked to the side of the boats' deck, she retrieved her phone from the inside of her jean pocket and went to activate the camera function. As she navigated the phone's menu she retrieved an alert showing she had a new message, she glanced down at it and read it. As Bond took the wheel he glanced to his right at Vesper, she had that worried and anxious expression on her face again, as if she knew something was about to happen, and she wanted to stop it, but couldn't. Vesper didn't delete the message, instead she simply exited out of the 'messages' program, and resumed her search for the camera function. Eventually, she found it and began taking pictures of the scene that was unfolding around them. Seeing the look on Vesper's face disappear, Bond once again concentrated solely on the navigation of the yacht through the city. As they passed through canals and under bridges, Bond couldn't help but notice the distracting movements Vesper was making as she took photos of the boats, the markets and the buildings that loomed over them constantly. Vesper zoomed in on the market screen that was unfolding to their right, to see, hidden in the crowd but still visible, a man wearing glasses, he had messy and matted hair, defined creases in his slightly-wrinkled face and one of the monocles in his pair of glasses was completely black. Vesper zoomed out again and took the picture, but Bond could see, even in the corner of his eye, that market, for some reason, had troubled her deeply. Eventually, they moored the yacht for free at the dock by the Palazzo De San Marco (where their booked hotel was situated) and began walking, arm-in-arm thought eh bustling streets and over the little stone bridges of Venice. Eventually, they rounded a corner and were greeted by an astonishing sight, the Palazzo De San Marco overlooked a large paved area with shops and hotels called 'San Marco Square'. The area was packed with tourists frantically taking out their cameras and snapping pictures of the square and the Palazzo before they were swamped by a wave of even more tourists. Barriers and tourist guides tried to keep the peace by shepherding and rounding up the people into organised groups so they could wait their turn to take photos and go shopping. Bond Vesper walked, arm-in-arm, through a shaded area that made up the square rim of the area. It was adorned with bustling shops and was protected from the warm Spring's sun by a series of roman columns that held up the stone rooftop. Despite the warm sun that rained down upon the city, there was still a mild chill in the air, and therefore Bond was wearing a blue jumper and black trousers. This was the first time Bond had actually worn casual wear in years, he was normally wearing suits and dinner jackets, but now his new life, his life with Vesper, his life that was free of the bonds MI6 required him to wear, was over, and the suits were gone. Bond and Vesper ran with joy and enthusiasm through the shaded area, towards a large, detached modern building marked 'Albergo', this was the hotel Bond and Vesper were staying at. They pushed past a large group of tourists and stepped into the large, wooden, double-doors. The foyer was lavishly and expensively furnished, with curtains of red velvet keeping the natural light at-bay. In the right corner of the room was an authentic wooden piano that was being played by a man in a dinner jacket, the music flowed throughout the room in a beautiful rhythm. The rest of the room was plastered with even more red, in the shape of a carpet that covered the floor, even the steps that led into the basement or up into the elevators were covered with the plum red material. As Bond examined the room, Vesper walked up to the female receptionist and requested their rooms, which had been on reservation for a while now. After a few minutes of talking, the girl walked out from behind the desk and said, in a rather distinct Italian accent "Signore Bond and signora Lynd, if you will come with me, I will show you to your room." She gestured towards the elevator. Bond and Vesper nodded and followed her through the rest of the foyer and stepped into the elevator. Wile the elevator lifted itself and the trio up through the shaft, the secretary said "Do you have any bags?" Vesper shook her head and said "Yes, we do, but they're are all on our yacht, which is moored in the Palazzo's dock, we can go get them when we require them. But for now all we have is one change of clothes each bags." She nodded towards Bond's backpack, which had little to nothing in it except for the aforementioned change of clothes. To show she understood, the secretary nodded and simply said "Si." The elevator stopped, and the doors opened, the three of them stepped into the plum-red, velvet plastered walls and together they walked towards Bond and Vesper's room, the secretary heading them up. The secretary opened the door with one of several keys on her belt and waved them into their room, closing the door beside them softly. Bond examined the room, it was like a small-scale replica of the foyer, it's general colour was red, and the carpet was made of velvet. The curtains were silvery blue colour, and the doors were golden in colour and adored with odd patterns. Bond walked through the room and sat on a chair beside a bedside table on the large, comfortable-looking, double bed. Bond leaned forwards towards the window and brushed the silver curtains out of the way, the window held a wonderful view of the square from above. The once-intimidating crowds of people were now like small colony's or armies of ants, and the once-looming Palazzo de San Marco was now just another building, albeit a very old and very beautiful one. "How long are we going to keep doing this?" Bond followed Vesper's voice to see her laying on the large bed. Bond smiled and replied "I told you, now it can be forever." "No, seriously." Vesper's voice now contained that stern tone that she used before Le Chiffre's death. He replied "Until one of us has to take an honest job, and that will have to be you because I have no idea what an honest job is..." Vesper was now tapping away at her phone, she nodded to show she understood what he said and replied "Well, we seem to be running out of money, less then 500 pounds remain on my credit card, so now he have to either find that 'honest job' or start taking some out of your bank account. MI6 won't mind, will it?" "I don't think so." "Well, that's what I'm off to do now while the weather's good, I have a few matters to clear up with the treasury and they only respond to calls from my work phone, so I'll leave this phone here with you." She tapped it once more and leaned over the bed, placing it on the left bedside table, as she did it, she continued "If I get any calls, answer them on my behalf but remember to re-direct them to my work phone.

Chapter 20: Nobody Loves Forever

Bond pressed his face up against the stone pillar and peeked around it, flattening his body to avoid being seen. Bond watched as Vesper was confronted by a group of 9 men. They all looked very strong and intimidating, like the stereotypical thug, they were seemingly led by a man with circular-rimmed glasses and an ugly, scruffy beard, it was the same man who had been watching Bond and Vesper in the hotel. He whispered something into Vesper's ear, raising a hand up as he did so, Vesper nodded back and handed him the suitcase she was carrying, the man took it and stepped back into the group of thugs. He lent over to a particularly bulky one and whispered something in his ear. Bond took this opportunity to take out his pistol from his trouser pocket and load it. The leader must of heard the 'click' of the loaded gun, as he immediately whipped out a small knife and grabbed Vesper spinning her around and restraining her, he had the knife held to her throat. All of the other men reacted instantly to the noise also, raising their guns to the pillar Bond was hiding behind. The leader knew it was Bond who had loaded the gun, he shouted, in a horrible, raspy voice "I'LL KILL HER! COME OUT QUIETLY AND SURRENDER OR SHE DIES!" His loud shouts echoed throughout the small square and the corridors that were attached to it. Bond replied, in a calm, collected voice "I thought you still needed her?" "YOUR WRONG! I HAVE THE MONEY, HER USE IS AT AN END!" Gripping the pistol more firmly, Bond turned put of cover and shot at one of the thugs, causing him to double over in pain. Untrue to his word, the leader did not slit Vesper's throat, instead her dragged her struggling form through the small square and out of sight, he was covered by two of the other men. He had dropped the suitcase in surprise, now Bond was torn between recovering the money and saving Vesper. She hadn't betrayed him, like the leader had said, she wasn't part of Quantum, she wasn't working for them, she had clearly been tricked or bullied into giving them the money. Bond trusted her, and that was what he would use to defeat them. Bond ducked and dodged as he ran from one pillar to the next, using the small moment of peace to reload. He sprang out of cover and quickly dispatched the already injured man, his lifeless corpse was smashed against the pavement, blood was pouring out of it. One of the men grabbed the dropped suitcase and made a run for it, he was backed up by the other 5 men, who shot wildly at the pillar, Bond flinched as the bits of stone flew everywhere. Bond raised his gun once more and began sprinting after them, shooting in there direction as he went. He was chasing them through several more dark and deserted stone corridors, occasionally running over a small stone bridge, which led over a canal. They returned fire, none of which hit Bond. Eventually, Bond caught up with them, he took cover behind a street corner and shot at the one who carried the briefcase, firing randomly to keep them busy, Bond dived for the suitcase, he felt the cool metal handle embrace his hand. Bond gripped the suitcase firmly and sprung up from his position on the ground, he smashed the swung the suitcase around wildly, smashing it into several of the thugs hands, causing them to stagger and grunt. Having successfully distracted them, Bond made a run for it, out of the dark corridor and into the bright, sunlit bridge over the canal, gunfire followed, Bond dodged most of it but one bullet grazed his left hand, brushing his knuckles and causing him to drop the suitcase. Like wolves spotting fresh meat, the men rounded on Bond, circling him and sneering at him. Bond went to punch one of them, but he was stopped by a brutally hard blow to his stomach, causing to double over in pain. They took this opportunity and one of the men grabbed the suitcase, running down the bridge and into the connecting dock, where the leader had restrained Vesper. The man handed the leader the suitcase and Bond rode the motorcycle off the edge of the roof and hung on to the handlebars as it soared through the air and landed with a hard 'thud' on the deck of the boat, rolling into cover, he retrieved his pistol once more and reloaded, pressing his ear.

Chapter 21: The Collapsing Villa

Bond clambered out of the boat and stood at the water's edge for a second. He heard the voice of the leader, followed by Vesper's screams. Bond turned a corner to see the 5 remaining men restraining Vesper as she struggled, they were escaping into a villa, which was of a standard Renaissance-era Venetian design. Bond gave chase, he drew his gun and walked slowly into the villa, he expected an ambush. The room he was now in was large and spacious, there were no windows, the only source of illumination was the light sparkling in the water, as there was a rectangular space of water covering much of the room, this was a boathouse. Bond heard a loud bang followed by a bullet whizzing past him and part of the wall exploding. Bond looked across the large room, squinting in the shadows, to see the group of 5 remaining men (plus Vesper) standing along the back wall. The leader held Vesper in place, he had a pistol held to her right temple and small, sharp knife held to her throat, it seemed ready to slit it whenever it could, without remorse. "Don't you dare..." Bond snarled at the group, his voice was icy, like it always was when he was angry. His eyes were bloodshot, they were boring into the leaders, in an attempt to intimidate the group. "I won't if you give me the money..." The man retorted, he was smiling a crooked, wicked smile, revealing a set of grimy, crooked teeth. "Give me her, all I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Bond shouted , he was really angry now. "THE MONEY FOR THE GIRL!" The man shouted back, his voice had gone hoarse. Bond continued his mental barrage for another second or two but then, he relaxed. He raised his hands, in a sign of surrender and held his pistol out, far from his body. In his second hand he extracted the card that contained the money and held that out as well. The man smiled the same evil smile he had before and relaxed his grip on Vesper. Vesper was relieved when she felt the knife stop pricking into her neck. But she couldn't believe James would just... Give up, like that. It was out of character... Vesper was right, although she didn't know it, Bond had already formulated an escape plan in his head. Seeing as he felt there was no need to wait any longer, he put it into action. There was a boat hanging on the ceiling above the 7 of them. It was connected to the ceiling by a system of ropes, which, when turned, would lower the boat into the water directly below. Bond made a slight hand movement to aim the pistol, then, he fired. The rope system was completely torn apart and the boat came crashing down, into the water. The crash of the boat and the splash caused by it startled the group of men. So much that the leader let got of Vesper completely. Bond grabbed Vesper and told her to hide, he wanted to kill all of the men, in person. Bond took cover behind a wall and re-loaded his pistol. He heard the men coughing, spluttering and swearing. However it wasn't long before Bond heard guns firing, he felt the side of the wall his head was close too partially explode. This startled him. Bond left the safety of the wall and started returning fire, he managed to shoot one man in the leg which caused him to stumble and trip. Bond ran past him and took cover by the wall in the connecting room, this room was dark and also contained a pool of water. Floating on the water was a system of floating barrels, which were used to keep the old building afloat. As Bond was examining the barrels, he felt a bullet fly last his face, the bullet, and a few others hit the barrels, causing them to explode under the pressure and the room began to collapse. Bond jumped out of cover and ran back out of the room. It was now sinking into the water. It wasn't just the floor that was caving in, however, the walls and ceiling were now shattering before Bond's eyes. Bond heard Vesper scream again, the leader was once again restraining her. Well, he was attempting to, she was making such a racket, kicking and screaming, that Bond could hear her easily. The leader was carrying her up onto the second floor, as the first one was now collapsing, he was flanked by the other 4 men. Bond made his way across what remained of the first floor. The water was almost waist high, and the walls were collapsing, some of the rubble hit Bond. Bond's already sore shoulder started aching again, and his face was bloody. He ran across the room, dodging even more rubble as he sloshed across the room, onto the staircase. Bond ran up the staircase to come face-to-face with one if the men. He had broad shoulders and a sinister smile, he looked extremely strong. Bond punched the man in the stomach. As his fist collided with the man's chest, he felt like he was punching a brick wall. Upon feeling the strength of his muscles Bond immediately retracted his fists. The man threw a punch at Bond, he dodged it and went to counter, Bond aimed at his face this time, although the man's think chin caused some pain on his knuckles, Bond managed to damage the man at least partially. The man threw his head forwards, revealing the extent of the damage, blood was running down his chin and he was now missing 1 or 2 teeth. The man smiled the sinister smile and punched Bond in the stomach, even Bond was alarmed by the brute force of this attack, it knocked the wind out of him and caused him to double over in pain. The man went to unleash another punch with his thick fists but Bond managed to recover just in time, he dodged the attack and went to kick him in the side, now his foot ached too. It turned out the side of the man was just as solid as his chest. The man grabbed Bond by his left arm, this caused Bond to silently scream in pain, it felt like his arm was being slowly and painfully removed from it's socket. The man smashed Bond into the wall. Bond once again stumbled in the pain of it all. Now his face was bruised and cut and his shoulder hurt more then ever, he even felt like he had broken some minor bone. However, the wall had given Bond an idea, there was a power box situated on it. Bond threw open the panel and extracted the broken cable. He waited for the man to attack him again and when he did, he turned on the power and plunged the cable into the man's face. The man fell over and thrashed on the ground as the electricity flowed through his body. Eventually he lay still, his face was still screwed up in pain. Having dealt with the man, Bond looked over to see two more of the group shooting at him, luckily for Bond there were several more barrels behind the men, if Bond shot them, the floor beneath them should collapse. Causing the rest of the building to sink. Bond quickly looked over the stone railing to see the man and Vesper stumbling down the stairs back onto the third floor. Bond whirled around and started firing at the men, he hit one in the arm and again in the leg, the man fell over as he screamed in pain. Bond then turned his aim to the barrels, after a few bullets they exploded and the balcony collapsed, causing the whole building to rumble and more rubble and debris to fall on Bond. Bond looked down and saw water flood the floor below him. Bond then looked back at the leader, he was being covered by the last man, who held Vesper now. Bond aimed down his pistol and shot the man, it hit in the chest, which caused him to fall over and into the water. Bond then shot at the leader, he tried not to hit Vesper, and luckily, he didn't. The man fell over and Vesper ran down the steps onto the next floor. That floor was almost entirely flooded. Bond called out to her "VESPER!" He shouted "I CAN SEE THE REMAINS OF THE FLOOR ON YOUR RIGHT, STEP ONTO IT AND THEN WALK UP THE STAIRS, BE CAREFUL NOT TO SLIP!" Vesper nodded to show she understood and began making her way across the floor. It wasn't easy. It was covered with water and more was flowing in by the second, to make it worse, debris and rubble was causing what remained of the floor to shatter under the weight of it all. Almost as soon as Vesper had managed to cross the rest of the floor, it collapsed, and the floor below Bond flooded completely, all that was left of the room was the ruins of the debris and several meters of bubbling, foamy and cold water. Vesper walked up the stairs but she was stopped by the hole in the balcony, it was slowly degrading and getting worse by the second. "JUMP VESPER, IT'S OKAY I'LL CATCH YOU!" Bond pleaded with her. Vesper looked behind her to see if there was any other way, there wasn't. "PLEASE VESPER IT'S THE ONLY WAY!" Vesper looked at Bond, before turning around and walking away from him, back towards the flooded floor. "VESPER, PLEASE! I PROMISE I'LL CATCH YOU! VESPER!" Vesper then turned back around and sprinted, at full speed towards the hole and Bond. She was gathering pace, and then, she jumped... Bond went to catch her but he was too late and Vesper was not fast enough. She fell back down onto the bottom floor, into the icy depths... As if in slow-motion, Bond saw her screaming face, and she saw the look of utter defeat on his. As Vesper's body collided with the water, Bond was on his knees, his face was as white as a ghost, and his eyes were bloodshot, as he saw Vesper disappear from his view. The moment was interrupted by the leader of the group. He was walking around the edge of the water, his face was bloody and he had a limp about him. He walked around the edge for a while, analysing the water, before plunging his right arm deep into it, and pulling out... Vesper. And she was alive, she opened her eyes and naturally looked for Bond, the man didn't let her find him though, instead, he raised his gun and once again placed it on her right temple. "I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU AGAIN!" Bond growled "YOU LEAVE HER ALONE OR I'LL KILL YOU WERE YOU STAND!" "GIVE ME THE MONEY!" The man demanded. Bond ran to the edge of the hole and dived into the water. Unlike Vesper, Bond was a strong swimmer, although the current was strong and the water was cold, Bond managed to make it across the floor and onto the edge of the water, we climbed out and when he opened his eyes, he saw Vesper standing in a lift that lay on it's side. It looked rusty, and it was upturned but it was in an working order. Vesper was already in it and the other man went to join her, but Bond was behind him. He grabbed him from behind and threw him on the ground. There was a great satisfaction when Bond snapped his neck. Bond then threw his limp body into the water. Bond then turned around and went to help Vesper get out of the lift. Bond went to open the door to find it was locked. Vesper shook her head at him. He looked deep into her eyes and saw such guilt and regret in them, but he didn't blame her, he had already forgiven her, why? Because he still loved her. But why did she shake her head at him? Because she hadn't forgiven herself, without speaking, Vesper raised her hand to show the key in it. Bond outstretched his hand and opened his palm, but Vesper didn't give it to him, she instead looked deep into his eyes, and without speaking, said sorry. Before throwing the key into the water, taking out the leader's knife, and using it to snap the lift's cable. Bond watched, in horror, as the lift, and Vesper inside it, plunged deep into the foaming, bubbling Venetian water. But Bond still hadn't given up, they were both going to make it out of this alive. He once again dived deep into the water. He swam through the ghostly, and oddly peaceful depths of the water. The water was contaminated with rubble and ruin. And Bond could see the dead bodies of the leader and the two men, floating, a blank expression on each of their faces. But what Bond was looking for was Vesper, and he soon found her. The upturned lift was jammed in the shaft, Bond expected Vesper to be trying to force open the lift, but she wasn't. She just floated there, in a corner. Her already pale face looked ghostly underwater and her dark hair was rippling slowly in the current. When Bond spotted her he swam quickly towards the lift and immediately went to prise open the door. It took a lot of force to open the door, and Bond didn't feel like he was making progress. Vesper swam up to him and grabbed his writhing hands, she kissed them in the same way he had kissed her's, in the hotel, during what seemed like an eternity ago. She then swam back to the corner, Bond went to grab her through the bars of the door but he couldn't reach, so he continued forcing open the doors. Vesper looked at him with those bright blue eyes, for the final time... Bond watched as he saw the light slowly fade from them, as they ceased to be blue and started going grey, then dull grey, then blank. Bubbles started erupting from Vesper's mouth, and she grabbed her throat. Bond watched her in horror, but he continued prising open the door, there was still time... Vesper's face was twisted and contorted, then her whole body just... Relaxed. Bond finally managed to force open the doors, he swam into the lift and grabbed Vesper, he could feel himself losing consciousness. Bond swam up, to the light, to the surface, and hopefully, to life. Fresh rubble pounded into the water as Bond swam, he was getting closer, and closer, he was almost there. Soon he would find out if Vesper was alive, that last glimmer of hope that always shown the brightest when everything else was gone was there, it glowed inside him, forcing him to go on, to keep swimming. Bond's head broke surface with the water, he breathed in the fresh air, and then swam to the edge. The rubble was coming down harder than ever, like stone rain. Bond ran, with Vesper in his arms, up the staircase, dodging the falling chunks of debris. Finally, Bond was outside of the building. He ran a few more paces and then stopped, before looking around and seeing what remained of the villa. It was now nothing but a whirlpool of stonework and water.

Chapter 22: Riposi in Pace, My Love

Bond did not close his eyes, he was afraid that if he did, he would allow the moment to consume him, that he would be swallowed by the inky blankness. And besides, there was no time to waste, if Bond was lucky, Vesper would be alive, and she would be able to tell him everything that had happened. There was a perfectly logical explanation for all this, Vesper wouldn't have betrayed him, Bond knew her too well, she loved him too much, and he loved her. That trust he had given her, the weight of it all

Bond stared into the void, his emotions reaching out and connecting to it. He couldn't be bothered to attempt to resist, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be consumed by it, hopefully it would offer some peace, for now all he wanted was to be alone...

Bond found himself standing on the deck of the yacht a few days later. Those few days had been an uneventful blur, they had been consumed by dull and mundane tasks. Bond led such an interesting life, when he wasn't committing espionage or gambling in glamorous casino's he was falling in love with beautiful and deceitful accountants. Bond closed his eyes and sat back down on a director's chair, he was trying to do anything but think of Vesper

"When did they start contacting Vesper? Was if before or after I won the game? Did she set up the trap to get herself and I captured or was she still working for us at that stage?" "They didn't start blackmailing her until after you and her went on your... Trip together, she always intended for you and her to both get out of this alive, hopefully with no consequences, including the death of her boyfriend." "Listen, Bond, if you need it time, I understand... You don't have to go chasing after this 'Mr White' character, we can get some men to go after him..." "Time? Why would I need time? It's over, it's finished. The job is done and the bitch is dead."

Epilogue

Mr White stared at the mountains. He had no interest in them, in fact, he wasn't even aware that's what he was doing. His mind was to busy pondering the mysterious message that he had received a few hours ago while on his way here to be bothered with such trivial things as mountains. However, his train of thought soon switched to how late the car carrying the money was. He had been notified of the capture of the money and the meeting spot about 5 hours ago. All though no word was sent on how the money was captured and the status of both the girl and the British agent who was accompanying her. He assumed they were both dead, as was the plan. The girl would have notified M16 if they let her live and the agent would have had to die, otherwise there was no chance they'd be able to recover the money. But surely it shouldn't take 5 hours to fly from Venice to Montenegro and then drive (for about ten minutes) to Le Chiffre's Villa. However, as if by fate, he finally heard another human's voice. "Mr White, I believe you have been expecting me?" That was odd. Firstly, White hadn't heard a car pull up. Secondly, that voice carried a British accent, and as far as he knew, there wasn't a British man in the group of thugs he had hired. Thirdly, the voice was coming from the roof of the villa. Nevertheless, White was happy to find the money had arrived. He assumed they had parked around the back, so he started to walk around the side of the villa, but he had barely reached the porch when, out of nowhere, a dart from a tranquilliser gun hit his left knee. The force alone knocked him off his feet, but as he tried to get up from the gravel he found his entire left leg was paralysed. As he struggled to stand up he heard the voice again. "In case your wondering I haven't brought the money with me, but my friends already have it, you'll have to take it up with them if you want it." "I thought you were under strict instructions from my personal bodyguard to bring the money directly to me!" Unfortunately you're personal bodyguard had an unfortunate... Accident. His family are visiting what remains of him in the town morgue right now." "Who are your friends then?" "Britain, the Empire, MI6." "What? Who the bloody hell are you?" "Vengeance, death, take your pick." Mr White heard the voice move from the roof to around the side of the villa, towards him. White raised his head from the ground and saw a tall, light brown-haired man with bright blue eyes and an icy expression on his face. He was wearing an expensive suit and was carrying a large tranquilliser gun which rested on his shoulder. He looked down at White "The name's Bond, James Bond."

James Bond Will Return in: Liberty Fallen


End file.
